Protecting Yourself and Your Family
Wills Trusts Bequests Annuities Power of Attorney Health Care Directives Living Will
The Catholic
Foundation believes that everyone should take time to assess their assets and
to make a financial plan to protect both their assets and their families.
In this section you will find information important to residents of
We are presenting general areas we think you should be concerned about in planning. The Catholic Foundation is not engaged in rendering legal or tax advisories. This section is meant to provide general information. We recommend that you consult an attorney or financial advisor in your decision making process.
The first thing we are concerned about is Protecting Your Loved Ones
Secondly, Where there’s a Will there’s a way
Thirdly, Planning Now
Finally, Do you have an Estate?
Everyone Does!!!!
Let’s talk about your estate. Do you know what it includes? Do you have any idea what that estate is worth and why you should want to protect it?
The Catholic Foundation has provided the following evaluation sheet for your use only. This is a personal evaluation. Print it out and take a few moments to roughly estimate the value of each item. Then add them up.
The Catholic Foundation
Estate Evaluation Worksheet
Asset |
Value |
Home |
$ |
Summer home or cabin |
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Land owned |
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Bank accounts |
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CDs |
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Pension |
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401k |
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Annuities |
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Savings Bonds |
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Stocks (Mutual funds/investment plans) |
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Bonds |
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Life insurance |
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Jewelry |
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Collectibles |
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Stamps |
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Coins |
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Antiques |
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Rare Books |
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Artworks |
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Other assets (possessions) |
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Total |
$ |
Of course you will need to adjust the figures if you have liabilities such as notes payable (loans), mortgages that have to be paid off, guarantees you may have made for other person’s debts, pledges or commitments to your parish or other charities etc
Click here for printable Estate Evaluation Worksheet
So how do you plan to take care of your loved ones and protect those assets?
You begin by focusing on the people in your life that you wish to provide for. Make a list of those people and determine how you want to provide for them. Next review the property you own and what you want to happen to it after death or in better before death in order to protect it. Think about your plans for the future. What do you want to do with the rest of your life and how will you be taken care of, if you become disabled? Now list the professionals you need to help you attain your goals. Think about an attorney, an accountant and a financial advisor. These simple steps will help you see the need for planning.
Another important tool in planning for the future is a Document Inventory that lists the assets you own and where you keep the documentation on those assets. The Catholic Foundation urges you to complete an inventory. It will make things easier for your spouse or children. It will save many hours, days or months of searching through documents, notes and files. This inventory will also provide valuable information to whomever you designate to handle your affairs. The Foundation has included a sample inventory to assist you. Click on Document Inventory above to access it.
Your plan will begin to look like a building project where you have made a blue print of what you plan to do. Every estate plan should be constructed in consultation with your attorney, tax advisor and or financial advisor. There are many building blocks that may make your estate planning more effective.
What estate planning tools or building blocks are available to you?
Here are a few.
Will… Trust… Charitable Remainder Trust… Charitable Gift Annuity… Power of Attorney… Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care… Living Will… and more.
Here are few of the more simple planning steps you can take. If your estate is large or complicated there are other steps you can take to protect yourself and your family. Consult an attorney, tax advisor or financial advisor for alternatives.
The cornerstone of any good plan is a Will.
Did you know
that 50% of the people who die in the
Did you also know that The State of New Mexico will make a Will for you if,
you die without one? Most states will do the same.
So why don’t all people have a Will?
Anyone of these reasons could mean that what you intended to happen to your money and possessions just might not happen when you die.
Important note: Both husband and wife should have wills. This true even if a good deal of their property is held jointly.
What a Will can do for you? It can:
· Distribute possessions not covered by joint ownership arrangements, trusts, Pay on death or transfer on death designations or other plans
· Designate who becomes the owner of items that you may acquire in the future
· Instruct how payment of taxes and other liabilities will be made.
·
· Appoint a guardian for minor children and other dependent family members.
· Appoints a personal representative and Trustee for any Trusts created in your Will.
· Leave instructions for when, how and to whom income and principal should be distributed if a trust is established.
· Let’s you include charitable gifts. Remember you may want to leave a legacy to your parish or other charity. You may even want to consider starting an endowment. Go to Endowments for more information This can be a great tax saving
· Establish the management of assets should a recipient be unable to manage property left to him or her due to age or other factors.
You should be aware that there are changing tax laws that effect your assets. For example, the “equivalent exemption or “Unified Credit.” This simply means that in 2004 and 2005 you can transfer up to $1,500,000 tax free. That exemption will increase through 2009 to $3.5 million.
2004-2005 $1,500,000
2006-2008 $2,000,000
2009 $3,500,000
2010 Tax Repealed???
If you do not have a large estate, does that mean you do not need a will? No. Estates smaller than these need a Will to facilitate probate and make assets available to your family on a timely basis. If you want your possession to go to specific people or to specific charities, you need a Will.
If you were to
die tomorrow without a will, the State of
For possessions and money that is not jointly owned, the State
If you did not have a wife or children at the time of your death, grandchildren, cousins, nephews and a variety of other extended family members would have a claim to your estate. Maybe that would not be what you want. Everyone should decide ahead of time what happens to their possessions. A Will makes it clear what YOU want done. If you died without a will and had intended to make a gift to your parish, to the Archdiocese, to a favorite charity like The Catholic Foundation, IT WOULD NOT HAPPEN. Most of us need a Will as the cornerstone of your financial planning that protects our family and our wishes. When making a Will, you should consult an attorney. You may already have one. That’s good. If you do not, you should find one. Other people you may want to consult before making your will are: your accountant, if you have one, a bank trust officer and a life insurance specialist. It depends on how complicated and large your estate is. Remember you do have an estate. Everyone does! But don’t let the idea of consulting professionals scare you. Start with an attorney and go from there. The important thing is to resolve to make a Will. In that process you will have a chance to review how your assets will be transferred to whom upon your death.
If by chance you already have a Will, good. But a Will needs to be reviewed every three years. Why?
Financial planning does not stop with a Will.
You have other options for protecting your family and loved ones.
Let’s look at another popular way of protecting your assets for your family.
A Trust is a way you can entrust your property to a person or institution with instructions to manage it on behalf of one or more persons for a specified period of time. By the way, you can be the trustee and manage the trust, if you choose to do so. Under terms of what has come to be known as a Revocable Living Trust, you and/ or others may serve as trustee of your property for a time, usually your lifetime. Then someone you appointed takes over to manage the assets as you specified in the trust. Such an arrangement could avoid significant probate expenses and speed up the process of estate settlement. A trust can also provide significant tax savings for your estate. Don’t overlook the possibility of a trust because it sounds like it might be complicated. Trusts are not that complicated. You should at least consider a Trust as part of your financial planning. Consult an attorney about the benefits of a revocable living trust.
It is called a “living” trust because it is established during your lifetime. It is “revocable” since you may choose to change or end the trust at any time. That’s worth repeating. It is called a “living” trust because it is established during your lifetime. It is “revocable” because you may change it or end it at any time. That gives you complete control of your assets.
Here’s how a trust can work.
You are the creator of the trust and transfer assets to the trust.
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Creator of Trust |
You or your Trustee(s) invests and manages assets as the trust documents direct.
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Trustee |
Trustee distributes income and possibly the whole to beneficiaries.
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Income Beneficiaries |
Trustee makes final distribution of assets when trust dissolves.
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Recipient of Trust Remainder |
Trusts are often created to manage funds for younger people until they reach an age at which they can be expected to responsibly manage property. So for example, if you have minor children, you may set up a trust that is managed for them until they reach 21 or older. It depends on what you think is best.
You may also create a Trust in your Will. But you need a Will to do that. Your assets could pass from you to a Trust. You can decide how it will be managed.
Lets talk about other things you might want to consider with your estate planning.
Many of us have been involved in our parish and/or with a charitable and would like to make a gift to them but, of necessity, our own financial security or that of your family must come first. Would you be surprised to learn that you can actually make a charitable gift that features a tax savings? And a gift that will provide lifetime income to you or a loved one and still qualify for a tax deduction?
These can be considered part of the building blocks.
For example, A Charitable Remainder Trust.
You have an asset that can be placed in a Charitable Remainder Trust. This can be stocks, bonds, or real estate or other property. You know that taxes are due on these assets if you sell them. But by giving the asset to a tax qualified charity such as your parish, the Archdiocese or the Catholic Foundation, you can receive income based on the value of the asset you have given away for as long as you live. By giving the asset to the charity you also get a tax deduction in the year you give it. If it is a large gift and exceeds the deduction you qualify for that year, you can spread the deduction over five years.
This type of trust is beneficial for you, if you have assets that have appreciated over the years. If you need income and would have to pay capital gains if you sold the asset, this trust lets the assets be sold tax free. That means the entire amount realized from the sale is available to earn income for the beneficiary. That’s you or whomever you designate as beneficiary.
For example if you make a gift of $100,000 to the Charitable Remainder Trust, you will get tax benefits that give you back $60,000 of the gift. Remember that the principal goes to the charity upon your death. What a great way to leave a legacy.
For more information on a Charitable Remainder Trust contact The Catholic Foundation.
Another good way
of providing a legacy to your parish or favorite charity is through a bequest
in your Will. Here you are not making the gift until after you die.
Once you have provided for your loved ones, the parish or charity benefits
through a bequest. You can become a member of The Legacy League
and help The Catholic Foundation serve the heart and soul of
Maybe when you do your financial planning you discover that the Life Insurance policy you bough years ago to protect your family while you were starting your working life is not needed to provide for your family’s future. You have enough assets without it. You could name the parish or a charity as a beneficiary. This removes it form your estate and it is not taxable.
There are many other vehicles that you might want to consider in your financial planning.
An annuity can provide income for a loved one for life.
Here’s an example. Mr. Smith has decided that he wants provide income for his wife in the event of his death. He decides on an annuity. This will provide income to his wife for the duration of her life. Mr. Smith decides to set up an annuity through an insurance company for that purpose. Mrs. Smith lives five years longer than Mr. Smith and the insurance company pays a monthly, quarterly or annual payment to his wife. However, when Mrs. Smith dies, the insurance company gets the principal left in the annuity.
But if, with Mrs. Smith’s agreement, they set up a trust with a charitable remainder or a qualified charitable gift annuity, their favorite charity gets the remaining principal. That means that the assets to the trust will be fully shielded from estate tax. Here you need to determine what works best for the person who is recipient of the trust income or annuity income. Your lawyer or accountant can assist you in making the determination.
The Catholic Foundation manages Charitable Remainder Trusts and Charitable Gift Annuities. For more information contact us.
Can you see the importance of financial and estate planning? Let’s turn our attention to a couple of other things you can do to protect yourself and your family.
What is it?
A power of attorney is a simple instrument by which one person nominates another person or persons to act in his or her place for and on behalf of them.
In its most general form, the power of attorney authorizes the attorney-in-fact (the person you chose to act in your place) to invest, reinvest and generally manage your assets. That could mean powers like paying bills, writing checks from your accounts or signing documents on your behalf.
A power of attorney can be limited as you desire with the authority of the attorney-in-fact defined as necessary to restrict the authority of that person.
The power of attorney is good only during your lifetime.
New Mexico has enacted the so-called durable power of attorney legislation which allows you to execute a power of attorney that will remain in effect despite in competency You must include language in the power of attorney that states this. Language like: “This power of attorney shall not be affected by incapacity of the principal (that’s you).”
Then there is
the “springing” Power of Attorney. This takes effect only if you become
incapacitated. It gives the person full power and authority to manage
your affairs.
Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care.
A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care is set up to designate a person who takes you off life support and to make other medical decisions. You can dictate under what conditions you want to be taken off of life support. The durable Power of Attorney for Health Care takes the decision making power from a doctor as soon as he or she determines you can no longer make the decision for yourself and shifts it to someone you trust.
So isn’t A Durable Power of Attorney the same as a Living Will?
No. A Living Will is your guidance to a doctor or doctors regarding what treatments and medications you would like in a situation where you may not be able to communicate that to him at the time. It is important to have a Living Will and you can access samples of a Living Will or healthcare directive as well as a sample Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care by clicking in on either.
The Catholic Foundation hopes that you found this informative and helpful. We really believe that you should begin immediately to plan for the future…yours and your families. There are various other ways to protect your assets and your family.
Important
The Foundation
is not engaged in rendering legal or tax advice. Information provided here is
meant to be general information only. The Catholic Foundation advises
everyone to consult an attorney, tax adviser, accountant or other professional
for specific information pertaining to your financial and estate planning.