Saturday, November 10, 2007

Is Estate Planning important?

Hi Fellow Automated Millionaires,

I used to think that Estate Planning is only for old people or rich people and can be settled by just writing a will as shown on TV. Alas! But things are not true in that way in reality.

In reality, in simplified form, when a person die, the government will take all the assets of that person into a probate. According to Probate Enterprise, Probate is a process of application for the release of assets to the beneficiaries, which have been frozen upon the death of our loved ones. Probate might take at at least 1 year and even longer if a person die without a will or leave behind a complex estate! After all these hassles, the loved ones of the person has to pay estate duty (though there is exemption, click here to find out more).

Hence, to avoid the probate and reduce the estate duty (which potentially can run to tens of thousands of dollars, if not handle properly) legally, Estate Planning is one of the most important part of one's Financial Planning. As of how to do a proper Estate Planning, of course, seek professional help as I always recommend. But as usual, I will write down in this Blog on how I will do it :)

Disclaimer
The above information is wholy author's personal opinion. It does not intend to replace any professional advice. If legal advice or other professional advice, including financial, is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

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