Estate Planning Strategies for a Single Parent Single Parents, Follow These Steps to Help Protect your Children

by | Apr 26, 2017 | Business News

 As a parent, your primary concern is the well-being of your children, both in the present and future. When planning for the eventual distribution of your estate to benefit your children while also minimizing estate taxes, it’s important to recognize that some of the benefits afforded to married couples will not apply to single individuals. So, what aspects of estate planning might require additional attention on your part?
At a minimum, it is essential for single parents to consider the following tips.
• Name a guardian. It is essential that your will include the name of a guardian for your minor children and, if different, the person who will be granted custody. Without this information from you, the state courts will make this decision, potentially placing your children with an individual you don’t believe to be the best to see to their needs.
• Review beneficiary designations. Not all assets are governed by your will. Update your insurance policies and retirement plans to be sure that your children will receive your assets either directly or through a trust that you have created. If leaving an individual retirement account (IRA) to your children, look into what you might do today to enable it to be used as a stretch IRA in the future.
• Obtain or increase life insurance. Review your life insurance coverage to determine if the proceeds will be sufficient to cover your children’s expenses as well as your estate tax obligations. Consider taking life insurance out of your estate tax calculation, set up an irrevocable trust that will own the policy and, through the trustee, make premium payments from contributions you make to the trust.
• Provide for your children’s health insurance. Your children’s health insurance coverage might end upon your death, or it might be eligible for continuation for up to three years under COBRA laws. It may be a good idea to familiarize yourself with other health insurance options, whether offered privately or through your state’s exchange, and share this information with the guardian you named.
• Gift, gift, gift. Monetary gifts to your children can reduce the size of your estate while benefiting your children. You might make these gifts through a trust, such as using the money to cover life insurance premiums. As a single individual, you may make tax-free annual gifts of up to $14,000 per recipient.
Depending on your situation, you may need to pay special attention to some of these points. For example, if you are divorced, it may be that your former spouse is still named as beneficiary of your retirement plans and insurance policies. If you are widowed, ensure that your estate plan also covers the assets you inherited tax free from your spouse, as those assets now belong to you.
The situation may become more complicated if you are in a domestic partnership. Although you may be raising children together, the tax rules regarding your estate could be different than those of married couples. For instance, assets do not transfer tax free from one unmarried partner to another. Using life insurance as an example, a surviving partner must own the insurance to avoid it becoming part of the estate of the deceased. Therefore, it’s often suggested that each partner own enough insurance to pay taxes on the other’s estate. Also, it is typically recommended that each partner name the other as beneficiary and guardian in their wills to help prevent the distribution of assets, or even the guardianship of a child, to a blood relative who feels entitled to them. For financial assets, you might consider a trust to avoid probate.
There are many factors to be considered when planning your estate and the well-being of your children. Begin building an action plan today.
If you’d like to learn more, please contact Brian P. Jacobs at 661-290-2022.
Sources/Disclaimer  Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”), its affiliates and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors and Private Wealth Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. Clients should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for matters involving trust and estate planning and other legal matters.
Insurance products are offered in conjunction with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC’s licensed insurance agency affiliates.
Since life insurance is medically underwritten, you should not cancel your current policy until your new policy is in force. A change to your current policy may incur charges, fees and costs. A new policy will require a medical exam. Surrender charges may be imposed and the period of time for which the surrender charges apply may increase with a new policy. You should consult with your own tax advisors regarding your potential tax liability on surrenders.
The author(s) and/or publication are neither employees of nor affiliated with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”). By providing this third-party publication, we are not implying an affiliation, sponsorship, endorsement, approval, investigation, verification or monitoring by Morgan Stanley of any information contained in the publication.
The opinions expressed by the authors are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Morgan Stanley.  The information and data in the article or publication has been obtained from sources outside of Morgan Stanley and Morgan Stanley makes no representations or guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of information or data from sources outside of Morgan Stanley. Neither the information provided nor any opinion expressed constitutes a solicitation by Morgan Stanley with respect to the purchase or sale of any security, investment, strategy or product that may be mentioned.
Article by Wealth Management Systems Inc. and provided courtesy of Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor.
Brian Jacobs may only transact business, follow-up with individualized responses, or render personalized investment advice for compensation, in states where [he/she] is registered or excluded or exempted from registration.
© 2016 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC.  Member SIPC. CRC 1563014 08/16

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