Do you feel financially secure or feel that you’ve set aside enough money for retirement? If the answer is yes, you’re one step closer to achieving your life’s ambitions. You may or may not know that depending on your situation, retirement planning goes well beyond just saving money and diversifying your portfolio. In some cases, you may need more comprehensive financial planning and sometimes, more sophisticated estate planning. Here’s something you may not know – estate planning isn’t exclusive to ultra-high net worth investors!

Understandably, estate planning can be a difficult topic to think about, but it’s important that you don’t postpone the discussion. American retirees expect to transfer more than $36 trillion to their families, friends, nonprofits, and additional beneficiaries over the next 30 years.1

And yet, only 32% of Americans have a will.2 If you search for guidance on which investors should explore estate planning, you’ll find that many experts agree anyone who owns any valuable assets – including a house, a car or a bank account – or if there are people who depend on you, you should have an estate plan in place.

Ok, we’re going to assign you just a bit of homework. We have put together an estate planning checklist that will set you on the path toward developing your estate plan.

1. Create a will if you do not yet have one
2. Complement your will by gathering related documents
   *If you have questions about which related documents are needed, please reach out to your PCIA advisor at 800-493-6226
3. Review your beneficiary designations
4. Create asset and debt lists
5. Think about consolidating your “stray” retirement and/or bank accounts
6. Let your heirs know about the causes and charities that mean the most to you
7. Select a reliable executor
8. Talk to the professionals

Perhaps you’re feeling a little like a parent trying to assemble a new toy for their child the night before their birthday. It sounds reasonable until you have all of the parts and directions laid out in front of you. Then you realize you could use some help! Our seasoned professionals at Prime Capital Investment Advisors can offer you just the guidance you need with your Advanced Estate Planning. This is an important discussion to have with a Financial Advisor as you’re reviewing your retirement plan, so that you can appropriately prepare your family and your legacy for long-lasting wealth.

• Unified credit: The unified tax credit is a set amount that individuals can gift during their lifetime and leave to heirs before any gift and estate taxes apply. 3 If you are worried about estate or gift taxes, reach out to our team to discuss how the unified tax credit could impact your retirement strategy.
• Gifting: Did you know you can hand off portions of your wealth to your family members through gifting? As of 2023, you can give any one person up to $17,000 tax-free (or up to $34,000 if you’re married and you’re filing joint tax returns).4
• Charitable remainder trusts: According to Fidelity Charitable, a CRT is an irrevocable trust that generates a potential income stream for the donor and other beneficiaries. This charitable giving strategy can create income and can enable you to pursue your retirement goals and aspirations. 5
• Life insurance replacement: This strategy typically refers to whole life insurance because it offers a guaranteed death benefit throughout a policy owner’s life.

Learn more about whole life advantages here: https://blog.massmutual.com/post/life-insurance-tax-advantages

Footnotes

1 https://www.seniorliving.org/finance/estate-settlement-annual-report/

2 https://www.caring.com/caregivers/estate-planning/wills-survey

3 https://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/unified-tax-credit.asp

4 https://smartasset.com/taxes/5-ways-the-rich-can-avoid-the-estate-tax

5 https://www.fidelitycharitable.org/guidance/philanthropy/charitable-remainder-trusts.html