Retirement planning helps ensure you do not outlive your wealth
Everyone likes to think that they can choose when and how they’ll retire.
But with corporate downsizing, economic dips, unexpected health issues and other outside events, you may not be able to control when you retire.
Whether or not this is a problem depends on the quality of your retirement plan.
If you have consulted with a good retirement planning team, you can confidently plan for, prepare for and transition to a retirement that will take care of you, your family and your assets.
To be sure you get the best, balanced advice, your retirement planning team should include an estate planning attorney, a financial planner and a certified public accountant.
Before you get together with your retirement planning team, you should consider your retirement planning goals.
Estate and elder law attorneys create essential planning documents
When you are ready to begin the planning process, contact an experienced, board certified attorney who specializes in estate planning and elder law.
Your estate planning attorney will discuss your goals for retirement and estate planning.
He or she will then create the essential documents you need to ensure you protect your family and your assets if you become incapacitated or die before or after your retirement.
These documents become the foundation of an estate plan that reflects your retirement and legacy goals.
At a minimum, your personalized comprehensive estate plan should include:
- Last will or Living Trust
- Personal property memorandum
- Durable financial power of attorney
- Durable health care power of attorney (health care surrogate)
- Living will (for end-of-life decision making)
- Pre-need guardian declaration
- Organ donation declaration (if desired)
- Memorial and funeral instructions
In addition, many estate plans include other strategies that reduce income and estate taxes and preserve assets for long-term care.
You may also want to include your pets as part of your comprehensive estate plan.
Accountants and financial planners help ensure you won’t outlive your wealth
Reputable financial planning professionals provide you with an objective analysis of your finances.
They can set up, review and manage retirement savings and other investment accounts that help you accumulate wealth.
In addition, your financial planner should customize a sustainable financial plan for saving, spending and managing your money.
You should consult with your financial planner about any trusts that are part of the estate plan created with your estate planning attorney.
Trusts may be an integral part of planning for your family’s financial security.
As part of your retirement and estate planning team, your accountant helps ensure that retirement and estate plans meet your tax planning objectives.
Your accountant can prepare your taxes, track and maintain transactions across all your accounts following standard accounting and bookkeeping principles.
Your accountant will work with your estate planning or elder law lawyer and financial planner to minimize tax impacts on your assets and property.
After you speak with your accountant and financial advisor, your Florida board certified estate planning attorney will help you complete the legal directives and create a process for making sure your plan and your assets are fully integrated.
You can read more here about resources and topics you should consider as you age.
The right choice for your retirement planning team
The Law Offices of Hoyt & Bryan have board certified, experienced estate administration, estate planning and elder law attorneys.
We’re happy to work with your trusted advisors including CPAs, financial advisors and other professionals.
We offer free scheduled estate planning and retirement workshops.
To join us for our next workshop and learn more about how we can help you, call us today on (407) 977-8080, or contact us online.
