According to Skeeles and Cunningham from the Ohio State University Extension, estate planning ensures that the welfare of a loved one is secured even after his or her death. However, the majority of Americans do not have a plan or a will. Why? No one likes to think or talk about his or her own demise, and our loved ones don’t want to hear about this subject either. Another reason is that the majority of us do not fathom the idea of planning an estate.

1. General Accounting Estate Planning

2. Importance of
Estate Planning
2
• Ensures the welfare of a loved one is
secured
• Safeguard your assets
• Guarantee that your assets will be
apportioned according to your desire
• Minimize the estate taxes that the
government will impose

3. Estate Plans to
Accomplish
3
• Financially secure your dependents
through life insurance
• Life insurance can be used to pay the
cost of settling the estate or provide
liquidity for agreements that involve
buying and selling

4. Estate Plans to
Accomplish
4
• Planning for your retirement
• Estate planning and retirement
planning must be considered
separately
• If there are no dependents, the idea of
the best estate plan is to have nothing
when you die

5. Estate Plans to
Accomplish
5
• Distribute equitably, not equally
• Equal distribution is natural in estate
planning
• Allocate the inheritance to dependents
or heirs based on their needs

6. Estate Plans to
Accomplish
6
• Liquidating the assets of the estate
• Setting an estate can be costly
• Life insurance policies and savings
accounts can be liquidated and used to
cover expenses and taxes due

7. Estate Plans to
Accomplish
7
• Documents associated with estate
planning
• These include a living trust, last will and
testament, living will, and power
attorney for finances

8. Estate Plans to
Accomplish
8
• Documents associated with estate planning
• Living trust is setup to determine who will
inherit your properties before you die
• Last will and testament identifies the
guardians of your minor children
• Living will and healthcare power of
attorney allows people to know in advance
your healthcare decision plans
• Power of attorney for finances allows you
to choose who will carry out your financial
and other non-medical decisions

9. Federal Taxes
for Estates
9
• Federal gift tax
• The amount of an exclusion gift per
year is $14,000 per individual, and
$28,000 for married couples

10. Federal Taxes
for Estates
10
• Generation-skipping transfer tax (GST)
• Applies when you transfer your
properties to someone who is two or
more generations from you

11. Federal Taxes
for Estates
11
• Inheritance tax
• The rates of inheritance tax depend on
the amount of assets inherited by the
beneficiaries and their relationship to
you

12. Good fortune is what
happens when
opportunity meets with
planning.
- Thomas Alva Edison
12
BKM Sowan Horan, LLP
15301 Dallas Parkway, Suite 960
Dallas, Texas 75001
Phone: 214-545-3965
Fax: 214-545-3966
www.bkmsh.com
For more information about Estate Planning, please visit: http://bit.ly/BKMSH-Estate-Planning