Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Estate planning is about leaving a legacy

Check out this article we found:

MUNSTER | Wills and estate planning are critical, but often overlooked, according to an attorney who spoke about planning ahead at a recent seminar hosted by The Salvation Army of Lake County.
“Estate planning is more of a life planning process than anything else,” said Gary Bonk, local estate planning attorney and The Salvation Army Advisory Board member, who spoke at the free seminar.
Bonk discussed the importance of putting together a will and estate plan, and answered questions regarding wills and trusts, guardianship and preserving assets for loved ones. The presentation also highlighted the significance of charitable giving.
“Leaving a charitable legacy is important,” said Bonk. “Charitable giving should be a part of any estate plan.”
Planned giving to organizations like The Salvation Army can enable donors to leave a legacy of support for a cause. These legacy gifts can provide tax benefits to donors and allow them a say in how the funds will be used.
Donors who make a legacy gift to The Salvation Army through their wills, trusts and other estate plans are members of the organization’s Legacy Society. These donations play a key role in facilitating resources to support The Salvation Army mission of Doing the Most Good. 

What is a Living Will?

As a successful Orange County estate-planning attorney (http://www.tompkins-law.com/estate-plan-reviews-and-amendments), I know that estate planning can be a difficult topic to discuss.  However, it is extremely important to prepare in the event of your death.  There are several types of estate planning, but one way of doing so is with a living will and a power of attorney for health-care.  In the beautiful state of California, using these types of tools is called the Advanced Health Care Directive. 

If you want to learn more about this topic please click the link below to read this blog post in full: