Avoid Leaving Heirs With a Headache
Make sure they remember you fondly.
After you're gone, your family will grieve for a while. And then they will really start to miss you, as they deal with the financial chaos you left behind.
Want to ensure you don't bequeath a mess? Try these nine steps:
1. Calling It Quits
The problems may begin even before you die. What are your wishes concerning life-prolonging medical procedures? Whom do you want to make medical decisions on your behalf? To save your family all kinds of anguish, draw up a living will and a health-care power of attorney.
Let family members know these documents exist, advises Stephen Maple, author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wills and Estates." In addition, "I tell clients to make sure their primary doctor has a copy of both their living will and their health-care power of attorney in his or her files," he says.
2. Burying Differences
Almost immediately after your death, your family will have to decide what to do with your remains. Picture the scene: Your daughter is absolutely sure you would want a $10,000 funeral, while your son is convinced a simple $1,000 cremation will suffice. The nasty fight that ensues could have been avoided if you had left behind written funeral instructions.
3. Willing Your Way
No, many folks don't have a will and, yes, you ought to get one right away. If you die without a will, your assets will be distributed according to state law. That doesn't necessarily mean everything will go to your spouse.
"It varies from state to state," Mr. Maple says. "But typically, one half goes to the spouse and one half to the kids."
4. Naming Names
While having a will is critical, it won't determine who gets many of your assets. For instance, your retirement accounts and your life insurance will go to the beneficiaries designated on those accounts. Similarly, if you own property jointly with right of survivorship, the property will usually go to the survivor, even if you list a different beneficiary in your will.
5. Splitting the Bill
As you decide who gets what, think about the tax bill that will accompany each asset. Let's say you have $2.25 million to leave to your daughter and your two sons.
With your older son, you own a house jointly with right of survivorship, with your share valued at $750,000. You name your younger son as beneficiary of your $750,000 individual retirement account. Meanwhile, in your will, you bequeath $750,000 in a taxable account to your daughter.
All even? Not quite. Your older son will immediately get the house, with no capital-gains taxes owed on the portion he inherits. Similarly, your younger son will automatically inherit your retirement account.
But in the case of the retirement account, all the income taxes owed on the tax-deferred growth will still have to be paid.
Finally, your daughter will inherit your taxable account. But unlike your house and your retirement account, this taxable account will pass through probate. Depending on how your will is worded, the entire estate-tax bill could be assessed against your daughter's share, Mr. Maple warns.
6. Avoiding Squabbles
Estate-planning attorneys sometimes joke that, after the parents are gone, only the children are left. What will your children squabble over? You would be surprised. Often, the biggest fights aren't over the biggest assets, but over the possessions with the greatest sentimental value.
To avoid such fights, take a moment to draw up a letter listing who should get your various personal effects. If certain possessions are likely to provoke fierce arguments, you may even want to use your will to detail who should inherit these items.
7. Hitting the Roof
If your intent is to make your heirs unhappy, try bequeathing them a bunch of homes in different states. That will trigger some huge hassles.
For starters, unless the properties are held in a living trust or you own them jointly with right of survivorship, each property will have to pass through probate in the state where it is located. Once your heirs get through that ordeal, they will probably want to unload the properties. That means a whole new set of headaches, as they grapple with real-estate agents and potential buyers.
8. Keeping It Simple
Your heirs will be much happier if you bequeath them stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit and mutual funds, which are far less troublesome to sell.
But even then, you can make things easier on your heirs if you confine yourself to one bank, brokerage firm, insurance company and mutual-fund family, and if you keep good records. How do you know when you have too many accounts? If your list of financial accounts doesn't fit on a single page, it is time to pare back your holdings.
9. Talking It Through
Even if you take the time to draw up a living will, health-care power of attorney, funeral instructions and a will, these and other papers aren't going to do a whole lot of good, unless somebody can locate them when the time comes.
With that in mind, tell your family where you have stashed these documents. While you are at it, talk to them about how you have divvied up your assets and how much each of them can expect to inherit. There is no guarantee this will prevent some nasty fighting after your death. But it can't hurt and it sure might help.
身后事安排有学问
要确保你的家人将来会深切的缅怀你。
在你辞世之后，你的家人度过一段伤心的日子。而当他们处理你身后留下的乱七八糟的财产时，他们就会真的开始想你了。
你也不想让自己身后的财产混乱不堪吧？试试以下的九步：
1. 未雨绸缪
问题在你离开前就已经浮现了。你是否希望在生命垂危之际用药物来延长寿命？由谁来为你作出这样的决定？为了避免家人的烦恼，你应该准备在世遗嘱和健康权力委托书(health-care power of attorney)。
《遗嘱遗产傻瓜丛书》的作者斯蒂芬?梅博(Stephen Maple)说，应该让家人知道你已经准备了这些文件，同时应该让你的主治医生预留一套这些文件的副本。
2. 理顺葬礼
你一旦过世后，你的家人就必须决定如何处理你的遗物。设想一下：你的女儿会非常肯定的认为你希望有一个花费10,000美元的葬礼，但你的儿子却认为，花1,000美元进行火葬就足够了。如果你事先留下有关葬礼事宜的书面安排，那你的女儿和儿子也就不会发生争执了。
3. 自行分财
有很多人都没有遗嘱，但你应该马上立一个。如果你没有遗嘱就死了，你的资产就会根据州法律进行分配。如果那样的话，你的财产就未必都能归你的配偶了。
"州与州之间的法律规定有所不同，"梅博说，"但通常情况是，一半归配偶，一半归孩子。"
4. 名有所指
即使有了遗嘱，也不能肯定哪个人能得到多少你的财产。比如说，你退休金帐户和保险帐户中的钱将归指定受益人所有。同样，如果你拥有的房产是共有财产，附有生存者取得权(right of survivorship)，那么，即使你在遗嘱中将房产划给其他人，它也只能归属和你共同拥有该房产的生存者。
5. 均衡分配
当你决定谁应该得到什么财产的时候，别忘了考虑每份遗产的税收问题。假如你给女儿和两个儿子总共留下225万美元。
你和大儿子共同拥有房产，并附有生存者取得权，你在房产中所占比例的价值为75万美元。你把退休金帐户中的75万美元留给了小儿子。同时将应税帐户中的75万美元给了女儿。
你的分配公平吗？答案是否定的。你的大儿子可以马上得到房产，不必缴纳任何资本增值税。你的小儿子自动继承了你养老金帐户中所有的钱，但要支付一定的税额。
至于你的女儿，她继承你应税帐户中的财富必须经过法院的遗嘱检验。梅博警告说，你在遗嘱中的措辞会决定你女儿要缴纳多少遗产税。
6. 避免争执
遗产律师有时候开玩笑说，父母死后留下的只有孩子。你的孩子会争论些什么呢？你肯定想不到。孩子们不会因为最大的一项财产争个不停，他们通常会争情感价值最大的东西。
为了避免他们这样争夺，你应该写封信说明谁得到哪一件你的私人物品。如果某项物品可能会引发比较大的争议，你甚至还应该在遗嘱中说明哪个人应该得到这样东西。
7. 恼羞成怒
如果你不想让自己的继承人高兴，那你就留一堆分布于不同州的房产给他们好了。那他们就有一大堆要干的事了。
一开始，除非你的房产有生前信托或是附有生存者取得权，否则每项房产都要在其所在地州法院经过遗嘱检验。经过了这番折腾，你的继承人可能都不想要这些房产了。他们还得跟很多地产经纪人或可能的买主接洽，那又是一大堆的头疼事。 8. 简单最好
如果你留给他们的是股票、债券、存托凭证和共同基金，那他们可能就乐了。这些东西卖起来可就容易多了。
不过，你仍然有办法让他们更省事，那就是你只和一家银行、一家经纪公司、一家保险公司和一家共同基金打交道，并且拥有良好的交易纪录。你怎么才能知道自己的帐户太多了呢？如果你的帐户清单超过一页，那就说明你应该削减一部分了。
9. 充分沟通
即使你花时间写在世遗嘱、健康权力委托书、葬礼安排等文件，可如果没有人在需要的时候将它们拿出来，那也没用。所以，要告诉你的家人这些文件放在哪里。当你还健在的时候，告诉你的继承人你打算如何分割财产，他们每个人能得到多少财产。虽然这不一定可以阻止他们之间日后的争斗，但至少是有益无害的。
