Support our online development, and advance our onground research initiatives in free market economics, as we seek to showcase the brightest Next-Gen minds.
THE ME-P DISCLAIMER: Posts, comments and opinions do not necessarily represent iMBA, Inc., but become our property after submission. Copyright © 2006 to-date. iMBA, Inc allows colleges, universities, medical and financial professionals and related clinics, hospitals and non-profit healthcare organizations to distribute our proprietary essays, photos, videos, audios and other documents; etc. However, please review copyright and usage information for each individual asset before submission to us, and/or placement on your publication or web site. Attestation references, citations and/or back-links are required. All other assets are property of the individual copyright holder.
Estate Planning for Medical Professionals
By Lawrence E. Howes; CFP™ and Joel B. Javer; CFP™
The motivating issue and primary purpose of estate planning is for the physician is to assure the proper transfer of property to desired heirs with a minimum expenses and taxation [not avoidance]. The process of transferring property is called probate.
Definition and Terms
Probate, meaning “to prove,” is the legal process of a court-supervised property transfer whose disposition is guided by either your will, or if you do not have a will, by the state laws of intestacy.
Other property or non-probate assets include property held in trust, in joint tenancy, most life insurance policies [because they have a named beneficiary] and most retirement plan assets [401-k and 403-b], again because of a named beneficiary.
All property is subject to estate taxation – whether or not it goes through probate. But, avoiding probate does not mean you can also avoid estate taxes.
Probate Avoidance
Probate avoidance is the subject of numerous seminars across the country. These programs rely mainly on doctor’s fears of the unknown. In actuality, many states have adopted all or part, of the Uniform Probate Code [UPC]. The UPC provides for a streamlined probate process and in most situations, residents of these states have little to fear when it comes to probate.
However, the probate process is a public process. Anyone can go to the court and look up the will of a decedent and delve into their personal life and bequests. This may be a negative idea for physicians.
State of Domicile
An estate is usually probated, distributed, and taxed under the laws of the state in which you are domiciled. There are some states (e.g. California, Florida, and Nevada) that have no additional death taxes beyond what the federal estate tax would allow.
Changing your residence to one of these states may avoid significant death taxes at the state level. You can do several things to establish domicile in a particular state.
Examples involve voter registration, automobile registration, driver’s license, safe-deposit boxes and having a principal residence there.
Owning property in more than one state may also cause multiple taxation by multiple states claiming jurisdiction, if you are not careful. So, it’s best to determine in advance the requirements for each state and take a definitive position on where you wish your property to be taxed and probated.
Assessment
The above considerations should be included in the estate planning process of any medical professional.
Conclusion:
And so, what is your experience with the probate process or estate planning process; and remember your opinion counts!
Related information: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/0763745790/
Share this:
Filed under: Estate Planning | Tagged: Estate Planning |
The Leading Business Education Network for Doctors, Financial Advisors and Health Industry Consultants 
Leave a comment