8 Steps to review 2012 Family Wealth Transfers

There was a tsunami after the election because people planning their Estate were afraid they’d lose the $5 million exemption. Most of them had done nothing. A few smart ones had some contingency plans, but they were in the minority. People rushed in, preoccupied with the issue of what assets they were going to give away.

So what you should do now?

1- Take out and review your documents. It’s not too late for you to talk to your children. But before that, you should speak to your wealth managers and discuss certain issues such as, “Who have they chosen as their trustee?”

2 - A common predicament is that, sometimes, the eldest child who’s money-savvy is chosen as trustee and the younger or less money-savvy child is left out. But, that’s almost always never a good idea. Most of the time, good trusts have a provision to change the trustee. For example, the less money-savvy child can be a co-trustee with a bank.

Bottom line: Although it’s not easy to change a trustee, depending on the terms of the trust, there are still ways to accomplish this. It’s rare that this issue can’t be fixed.

3 - Look at what’s really going to happen with the plans you set up.

4-  On the tech side, make sure gift tax returns are filed with income taxes (April).

5 - Check if you still need  valuations for your assets, such as real  estate, which was transferred into an irrevocable trust.

6 - Look at the transfers that you made to your grandchildren, to take advantage of 2012’s generation-skipping transfer tax. If you thought it was a good idea to put money towards your grandchildren, but you forgot about leaving assets to your children. Even with decanting, most states won’t allow a change of beneficiary. But, there are ways to remedy this.

7 - Talk to your wealth manager to make a flow chart to show you where your transfers are going.  Get everybody together: children, grandchildren and other family members.

Your wealth manager will explain to you and your family members what strategies were implemented at the end of the year. Lack of education is the worst thing. Whether you’re giving a family member anything or nothing, it’s still important to discuss transfers so there’s no shock. Remember to start a dialogue with children in their 20s.

8 - The most important goal many parents have is for their children to like each other, love each other and work together (whether with investments or in business). It’s the last goal that’s the most difficult.

Mintco Financial is a wealth management firm with more than 36 years combined and has been helping families and their members with their Estate Planning.

Contact us at 813-964-7100 or visist our website at www.MintcoFinancial.com