DHP Financial Post - Do You Have An Estate Plan?

[Leslie]

http://smartmoney.com/ontheagenda/index.cfm?story=20030827

ESTATE PLANNING ISN'T ONLY for the super rich. We all need to take some simple steps — like writing a will — to make sure everything we've worked so hard for is allocated as we wish when we die. For those just getting started, we'll explain how to write a will for a mere $75, and how to calculate your net worth. And for those with young children, we'll provide some guidance on choosing a legal guardian.

We also have a collection of articles geared toward people with sizeable estates. We'll tell you how to minimize the dreaded estate tax (which will be in place at least until 2010) by setting up bypass trusts, opening up a Roth IRA and using your gift-tax exemption. In other words, we'll help you make sure your estate ends up in the hands of your heirs — not Uncle Sam.

[Sharp Eye Washington]

Thanks Leslie. Great information which should be shared. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

[imported_Gman]

Recently did the will thang because I took a look at the state inheritance sequence and since we don't have any children our parents would get all our stuff. My mother is in a nursing home and Linda's mother is in a senior citizens building which means that if they get any money the states of IL and WI would take a lot of it as reinbursement for the programs they have recieved graemlins/scared.gif

[imported_Gman]

Starting to look into a "Living Trust" which is supposed to be a better way to pass your assets on to your heirs without going thru probate. Probate can take years and you have to pay something like 10%-15% ?? to the state for costs.

[statuskuo]

if your combined assets > 750K+, i'd suggest you get a term life insurance (the cheapest to cover yo ass) to cover for the 50% estate taxes due in cash upon yo death.

[Leslie]

At the very least people have guardianship issues with regard to your children set up. I cannot stress this enough. Have it written down and notarized and kept in a safe place that you and the guuardian(s) know about so if heaven forbid the times comes it can be found.

I cannot tell you the hell her family went through securing the custody of her kids when my friend died.

[ August 28, 2003, 04:01 PM: Message edited by: Leslie ]

[imported_Gman]

Make sure your beneficiary papers are uptodate on your life insurance and retirement plans. Its very easy to forget about that shit. You want to make sure the money goes to the people where it does the most good. Not the crackhead brother or sister.

-G

[ August 28, 2003, 04:07 PM: Message edited by: Gman ]

[Leslie]

A tad off topic but I like the idea...

Elmo,Big Bird Head To Wall St. In Fincl Literacy Campaign
August 28, 2003


By Cheryl Winokur Munk
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES


NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Elmo is heading to a new street - Wall Street.

He and other characters from the popular children's television show "Sesame Street" are teaming up with Merrill Lynch & Co. (MER) to teach three-to-five-year-olds the ABCs of finance.

The financial literacy campaign - dubbed Investing Pays Off, or IPO, - will kick off Sept. 10 in eight major cities, the District of Columbia, and parts of New Jersey.

Sesame Workshop and Merrill will initially distribute 20,000 Elmo posters and 225,000 copies of a special issue of Sesame Street magazine called "Talking Cents" that offers strategies and activities to help adults teach children basic business concepts. There's also a pullout section for kids where they can help Big Bird decide how to spend the money he earns from a bake sale, and go food shopping with Elmo. The magazine is also interspersed with tips in Spanish.

"All kids can benefit from this" although there is a special emphasis on underserved communities, said Eddy Bayardelle, head of global philanthropy at Merrill Lynch.

The posters and "Talking Cents" will be distributed to 80 childcare resource and referral agencies, select Head Start programs and at various community events. The magazine will also be available online at www.sesamestreet.com, (http://www.sesamestreet.com,) along with additional activities related to helping Elmo and his friend, Zoe, run a lemonade stand.

Jeanette Betancourt, assistant vice president for the education and research division of Sesame Workshop, said she hopes there will be more print and online content in the future. "We're hoping that this partnership will continue to grow," she said.

The materials were created by Sesame Street's research team with funding from Merrill. So far, Merrill has spent about $500,000 on the venture, but Bayardelle expects that to increase over time as it is expanded across the country and possibly globally.

-By Cheryl Winokur Munk, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2123; cheryl.munk@dowjones.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-28-03 1108ET