|
You Can’t Take It With You
Experts advise planning to leave it behind
By: Jennifer Williams, June 5, 2003
Senior citizens across the country are facing the issue of financial planning for retirement and protecting the assets they have accumulated.
And while there is no magic age at which to being estate planning, Patrick J. Horan, founder and managing partner of Horan & Associates Financial Advisors, Ltd., advises doing so before the age of 70.
“Many people ignore the fact that they’re going to die,” said Mr. Horan, a graduate of Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore and a parishioner of St. John the Evangelist, Hydes.
He reminds his clients that “you can’t take it with you.”
When one finally does being planning, Mr. Horan said looking at the big picture is key.
“Of you look at just one aspect, then people sometimes end up doing the wrong thing,” he said.
Mr. Horan said people need to consider, among other things, their income needs, income tax ramifications, estate tax ramifications, whether or not they will potentially need a nursing home and what other health car associated costs they may incur.
“You can’t just do it (estate planning) in a vacuum,” he said.
“You have to look at everything and then get good planning advice from a firm like ours, which looks at the big picture.”
What kind of planning is necessary largely depends on the total size of someone’s assets, said Mr. Horan, a certified financial planner and chartered financial consultant with more than 20 years of experience. People should be sure to consider all of their gross financial taxable asserts when they being their estate planning.
Depending on the size of one’s estate, they should also take into account the estate tax.
“Under current estate law, by the year 2010, there will be no estate tax,” said Mr. Horan.
As of now the estate tax and generation skipping tax is repealed the for the year 2010 only.
Mr. Horan said if an individual’s estate does not add up to $1 million dollars, then they should not be concerned with the estate tax, but rather the ultimate distribution of their assets.
He emphasized the importance of having a legalized will so that property will be distributed as one desires. Without a will, state law will dictate the division and distribution of one’s assets. Mr. Horan said that according to federal estate law, an estate is “anything you own or have incidence of ownership to.”
He said “incidence of ownership” is the key term and said that is why it is important to consult with a financial expert.
“Many people don’t know what they’re worth and they don’t understand what’s includable in their gross estate at death,” said Mr. Horan, whose firm was named one of the top 250 advisers in America in 199 by Worth Magazine. “We help them manage their assets.”
|
