Legacy preparation can play a key role in any financial strategy. Legacy management lets you consider what happens to everything you’ve accumulated—and may continue to accumulate—throughout your lifetime. But far too often, we’ve seen this as something that gets overlooked. In a 2024 survey, Caring.com found that less than one-third of Americans had wills.
At the end of 2025, portions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) are set to expire. Many changes will come with the sunsetting of many rules, including the possibility that federal estate and gift tax exemption levels will revert to pre-TCJA levels.
The word estate is most commonly associated with great wealth, but the truth is, that everyone has an estate. Everything you own, from your car and bank accounts to real estate and retirement accounts, encompasses your possessions. An estate plan is simply creating a legal document that puts your financial affairs in good order for the specific needs of the individuals and organizations you wish to receive your possessions once you’ve passed away.
Everyone who makes time to ponder and plan for the end of this life on earth does some form of estate planning in an effort to spare their family from facing major legal issues, inheritance taxes, and (potentially) bitter disputes.
With the advancements in medical technology, medicine, and treatment, it is now more possible than ever for a person to defeat a health crisis that would have ended a person’s life several years ago. Additionally, hospitals can now keep a person alive, often under the most extreme situations.
Understandably, no one likes to contemplate the end of his or her life. We work to focus on the moment and live in the present, hopefully enjoying life stages and milestones as they come. While thinking of our own demise may seem unpleasant, just like birth, death will be a part of everyone’s life.
Have you ever received a notice stating you’ve got unclaimed money sitting around? Although your first instinct might be that you’re being scammed, and although you could be, you very well might not be.
Authored by: Bridget Quijada
When filling out your financial paperwork, beneficiaries may be at the bottom of your list of priorities. It is easy to get caught up in what investments to choose from or how much risk you’re willing to take. But, take note, choosing your beneficiaries is one of the most important decisions you will make.
As it does every few years, projections that the estate tax will soon sunset have begun to emerge. But we feel very strongly that even if it were to do so, the need for life insurance within estate planning would still be vital. Life insurance has the ability to satisfy an array of necessities that only life insurance can.
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