If you have no estate plan and are married and have no children, or if you are married and all of your children are also the children of your spouse, your spouse will inherit everything that passes through your probate.
An estate plan, depending on the complexity, can range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars.
People are often anxious to avoid estate taxes when they pass on.
Federal estate taxes are no longer a problem for most people, since there is no federal estate tax unless the estate is over $11.2 million dollars.
At one time not too long ago, federal estate taxes (death taxes) started at $600,000.
Many people have or had the potential to have to pay estate taxes if they had savings, retirement accounts, and/or a house, when estate tax was due on amounts over $600,000.
It is only a slight exaggeration to say that federal estate taxes are not a worry for most people unless they have (or control, or have given away) well over eleven million dollars ($11,200,000 to be precise).
In Oregon, after a Medicaid recipient dies, the Medicaid Estate Recovery Unit, also called the Estate Administration Unit seeks to recover amounts paid for care by Medicaid from the estate of the Medicaid recipient who has just died.
There are several major kinds of trusts.
These include Special Needs Trusts and Supplemental Needs Trusts (sometimes called SNT Trusts).
They also include Revocable Living Trusts (which are perhaps the most common kinds of trusts).
There are many reasons to do a trust.
One reason is that it can simplify things if the person who does the trust ever becomes unable to manage their own affairs.
Having an up to date Will can be crucial to achieving your estate planning goals.
Having an up to date Will can be crucial to achieving your estate planning goals.
One of the most important things a Will can do is to name the person or persons who will raise your children if you die before your children turn 18.