Utilizing Estate Planning

Estate Planning 101: What You Don't Know Might Cost You

A CPA should not only be your best "financial friend" he should also be a source of providing other financial advisers who can assist and advice in many other varied sections of longer-term financial advising, such as estate planning. Though many of us, even though as Believers we know where we are going, there is frequently a lack of interest or desire to planning for our life's end and indeed our passing. Estate planning issues cover a myriad of issues, many of which I maintain a broad general understanding, however for the wise and judicious use and application of Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts I would defer to the skill and wisdom of a Tax Attorney with decades of practical and insightful experience. To this end, I often assist in these meetings between the Tax Attorney and my client to serve as a go between and to ensure that client's wishes are carried out in a thoughtful and insightful manner.

Frequently because of the many nuances and variables discussed in such a meeting, it is easy to miss the "meat of the presentation." Frequently taxpayers who have a net worth over the threshold of having to pay estate taxes, fail to consider that making just a few simple changes will dramatically affect the ultimate disposition of the net worth of the estate and their minor children potentially receiving monies well before the client would have preferred. If an attorney writes a will, failing to consider these items, there could not substantive misdirection of monies, overpayment of taxes, and giving substantive monies to the control of minors, when they are not emotionally mature enough to handle resulting in not only the loss of the monies, but to the failure to adequately guide and direct the children. One such case involved a situation where if the husband had pre-deceased the wife, the ultimate estate tax on her death will be $1,575,000 more than it had to be with some fairly basic estate tax planning (adding a Credit Shelter Trust to their Will). However if the wife pre-deceases her husband, without a Will, he (the husband) would inherit 1/3 of her estate and the children would each inherit1/6 of her estate outright, a result that would be problematic because it might not be consistent with their wishes and would make their minor children suddenly flush with cash. Reviewing the ownership of assets and ensuring that you can fully utilize the estate tax free amount regardless of order of death is an essential part of the estate planning process.

Estate planning is, by definition, an unselfish exercise for the benefit of the survivors. The estate tax is largely avoidable through proper planning over time; failure to plan can cost you dearly. As a CPA in Atlanta for almost three decades I have personally been involved in many client planning meetings resulting in the savings of tens and thousands of dollars and more as well as the effective application and achievement of client wishes and desires.

John Dillard is a Christian Speaker/Author and Certified Public Accountant (All Rights Reserved). To See how he takes Christ along with him to work visit http://www.hiscpa.com/  (An Atlanta CPA firm) and for his latest book Overcoming Life's 9/11's: Job's Journey and to learn about his ministry visit http://www.john-dillard.com/  To contact John Dillard CPA (Atlanta Christian Author/Speaker) today call 770. 814.9304 proudly serving Duluth, GA, Gwinnett County and Beyond.