The 8 Goals of a Good Estate Plan

This article is the first in a series of nine articles explaining the Eight Goals of a Good Estate Plan.  The next eight articles in this series will each examine one of the Eight Goals of a Good Estate Plan in detail and explain the tools we use to accomplish that goal.

Estate planning is crucial for managing and protecting your assets, avoiding probate, reducing taxes, and ensuring your healthcare wishes are honored. Our survey revealed that while only 41.7% of respondents have created an estate plan, over 50% cited "protecting my family" as the primary reason for doing so. The most common documents included are a will (40.3%) and power of attorney (37.3%). However, only 27.8% have discussed their plans with family. This highlights the importance of estate planning in safeguarding your loved ones' future. Learn more here.

‍The purpose of this article is to provide you with a road map of the goals and the tools we use for each.

I have broken the Eight Goals into two groups.

The first group consists of four General Goals that apply to nearly every client. The second group consists of four Focused Goals that may be appropriate depending on a client’s individual circumstances.The four General Goals and the tools that we use to accomplish them are:

1.  Appointment of fiduciaries and distribution of assets;

Tools: Revocable Living Trust, Will, Healthcare Power of Attorney & Financial Power of Attorney

2.  Probate avoidance upon death;

Tools: Revocable Living Trust

3.  Guardianship avoidance upon mental incompetency;

Tools: Healthcare Power of Attorney & Financial Power of Attorney

4.  End of Life Instruction;

Tools: Living Will.

In addition to these four primary goals, clients in special circumstances may also seek to accomplish four particular goals that are specific to their circumstances. These four Focused Goals are:

5.  Estate tax avoidance;

Tools: Revocable Living AB Trusts, Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts, Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts, Grantor Retained Income Trusts, Grantor Retained Unitrusts & Generation Skipping Trusts

6.  Ensuring that a loved one with special needs is provided for without preventing him or her from receiving social security payments;

Tools: Third-party Supplemental Needs Trusts & Self-Settled Supplemental Needs Trusts

7.  Protecting assets from creditors; 

and Tools: Irrevocable Trusts, Family Limited Partnerships, LLCs & Corporations

8.  Preventing assets from interfering with eligibility for Medicaid and transferring assets to loved ones at death free of Medicaid liens.