Protecting My Parents' Assets

When our loved ones grow old, we worry about protecting their hard-earned money and assets. Through estate planning, Goldberg Law Group can assist you and your family in ensuring your loved one’s assets are protected properly.

What is Estate Planning?

Estate Planning is the preparation for the management of one’s assets in the event of their incapacitation or death. Think of estate planning like creating a road map to follow to ensure your loved one’s wishes are carried out when they pass away or are unable to carry out their wishes out themselves.

Common estate planning documents are wills, trusts, powers of attorney and living wills.

Protecting the Home Through Estate Planning

In New Jersey, typically the largest asset people own is their home and it is important to protect this asset correctly to avoid problems in the future.

A trust is a legal contract that allows another person, or a trustee, to hold property for you, the grantor. This allows the beneficiaries (individuals or entities who are to inherit the said property) to use the property at some point in the future. You can place money, physical assets, or anything else of value in a trust.

Most importantly, property is distributed faster in a trust because one can avoid a lengthy probate court process.

Types of Trusts

There are as few types of trusts that you can create to protect the home: a living trust, a testamentary trust, a revocable and an irrevocable living trust.

You can create a living trust to hold property both before and after your death, and a testamentary trust is a type of trust that a will creates, so it only becomes effective after the grantor’s death.

Regarding living trusts, a revocable living trust is one where the grantor keeps the right to modify, amend, revoke, or terminate the trust. However, an irrevocable living trust does not allow the grantor to make changes to the trust. A revocable trust becomes irrevocable once the grantor dies, as they can no longer make changes to the trust.

If you want the ability to make changes or revoke the trust, a revocable living trust may be the better option for you. On the other hand, if you are looking for potential tax benefits and are comfortable giving up control over the assets, an irrevocable living trust may be a better fit.

It is important to note there is an inheritance tax in New Jersey, and the tax rate depends on the inheritor’s relationship to the deceased.

At Goldberg Law Group we understand there are difficult decisions to be made regarding estate planning, however, we are here to guide you and to give you the best counsel possible to protect your assets. Feel free to call us for your complimentary 1 hour consultation at 973-228-1795.