Planning January 2001 Stephen P. Magowan, Esq. This outline is intended to give a broad outline of basic estate planning considerations. In places, I may only put a one or two word description of a longer conversation you can have about these issues. This outline is intended as a springboard to further discussion, not as final advice.
Estate planning means many things to different people.
However, I feel that it is useful to think of the functions separately. I feel that the first step to understanding your own estate planning needs, is to gain a comprehension of the taxes that may be imposed against your assets when you die. By doing this you can determine whether the imposition of such taxes is a risk you face. There are U.S. federal estate taxes and Vermont death taxes. The Vermont taxes are not important so we will not discuss them here.