Some people think that they do not have an estate, and therefore do not need to do estate planning. The truth is that regardless of wealth, everyone has an estate. It is true, too, that virtually everyone should do some kind of estate planning. An estate consists of all the property a person owns or controls, whether in his or her sole name, held in a partnership, in a joint ownership arrangement, or through a trust, and all other moneys that would be generated on the person's death, such as through life insurance. Thus, the size and complexity of an estate will vary based upon individual circumstances.
Most people are familiar with wills.
Many of them have read about trusts as an alternative means of distributing assets after death. They may also have an elementary understanding of estate taxes and how to minimize them. Comprehensive estate planning will, of course, provide for that. In addition, estate planning will provide for the administration and protection of assets during a lifetime and for decision making in the event of a disabling illness. In other words, estate planning today goes beyond its traditional role of planning for the security of your dependents and making distributions to them.