Estate Planning

Although many American households do not develop an estate plan, there are several practical reasons for making one. After a person dies, he or she usually wants his or her possessions to go to certain individuals and/or charities. People who are supporting someone, such as a spouse or children, want that financial support to continue. A parent of a minor child needs to indicate who the guardian will be for that child. People who own small businesses may hope to see the business continued by the next generation, and those with sufficient wealth to incur estate taxes want to minimize these taxes as much as possible.