Elder Law and Estate Planning: Preparing for Your Golden Years

Elder Law and Estate Planning: Preparing for Your Golden Years

Life moves fast, and sometimes we don’t think much about retirement until it’s almost there. We may have been contributing to retirement accounts for years, but what about our estate planning? Can elder law and estate planning help you prepare for your golden years?

Estate Planning Near Retirement Age

As we age, we focus on different needs. Young professionals in their 20s and 30s will not have the same questions and concerns as someone in their 50s or 60s.

Your estate planning changes also as you pass through various stages of life. As someone nearing retirement, you might consult with your estate planning attorney about the following issues.

Funding Retirement

It’s likely you will work with financial advisers and an estate planning attorney to come up with a plan to fund your retirement. Property may be transferred to a charitable remainder trust, for example, which pays the retiree an annuity.

Business Succession

Every business owner needs business succession plans. However, it becomes more critical as retirement approaches. Money for retirement is often tied to a business owner’s company. Under a buy-sell agreement, the business interest of a retiring owner may be bought out by the other owners. The business interest or shares may also be sold to a third-party. Some owners may use profit from the business to fund their retirement while maintaining some form of reduced role at the company.

Incapacity and Long-Term Care

Planning for disability, incapacity, and the need for long-term care ideally begins in early adulthood. However, it’s not too late to consider these issues when closer to retirement age.

Having a durable power of attorney in place means you have named someone to act on your behalf.  If, for example, you have a stroke, someone will need to step in to handle your financial affairs. That someone is the agent you named in your durable power of attorney.

Trusts and long-term care insurance may help with the burden of paying for long-term care.

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