The first step in the Three Step Strategy™ is to establish your plan with “counselling oriented planning partners.” Your “planning partners” include your financial advisors and your accountant as well as your attorney.
The phrase recognizes that in our specialized economy, the complex issues we address in planning can’t all be addressed by one type of professional and often require a collaborative effort between them.
As an estate planning attorney I concentrate mostly on planning for your property if you become disabled or if you die. I address issues like:
How will you keep control of your property while you are alive?
Will your beneficiaries have creditors that try to take away what you gave them and how can we protect them from that?
Will your beneficiaries know how to handle the money you leave them or will they squander it?
How will your money affect the growth and development of your beneficiaries?
Other issues may be just as important, though, if not more important.
How should your money be invested for your beneficiaries and who should do that?
How much will estate taxes deplete your estate?
Should you purchase life insurance to substitute for your earning capacity if something happens to your?
Should you invest annuities or whole life insurance to protect yourself against inflation?
Should you buy long term care insurance and how much will it cost?
All these are issues that lawyers generally aren’t licensed or qualified to address, but clearly they can be part of your planning.
That’s why we try to help our clients choose a “team” of advisors to help with their planning.
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The Three Step Strategy™ is trademarked by LifeSpan LLC and used with express permission by the author as a member of The National Network of Estate Planning Attorneys under a license granted by LifeSpan LLC.
Copyright Frank L. Bridges 2015