By Ed Olkovich
You've worked hard all your life to provide the very best for your family, friends and community. How do you ensure this will continue? The answer is quite simple. Through a legal document -- your will.
Some things to consider:
1.Be Responsible
The time and cost of a lawyer-prepared will is small compared with its benefits. A will avoids uncertainty, which can lead to arguments among beneficiaries, delaying settlement of your estate and increasing costs. You'll also have peace of mind, knowing your affairs are in order and your beneficiaries will not have to deal with the courts to settle your affairs while they are grieving.
2.Put Family First
It's possible that you and your partner could die together. Only by appointing a guardian in a will can you specify who will care for your children.
3.Your Good Intentions
If you do not make a will your good intentions to provide for your friends, charities, religious institutions or relatives mean nothing. The law dictates exactly how your assets are divided among your family. Wills ensure your legally-binding wishes are carried out.
4.Tax Savings
Canada no longer has estate or inheritance taxes, but death triggers federal income taxes. A proper estate plan can minimize taxes now and for your beneficiaries. Why not plan to pay less taxes?
5.Support a Charity
A bequest to your favorite charity continues your support and can reduce taxes.
6.Who's In Charge?
Your estate trustee or executor is the person named in your will to distribute your estate. An executor can be a family member, a friend, lawyer or trust company, and there can be more than one executor. Professional trustees can manage trust funds for the financial security of spouses who lack financial expertise or a dependent child.
7.Lawyers Help
Explaining legal concepts and preparing wills to meet your estate needs are what lawyers do. Many people think that they'll save money by preparing their own will however, if imprecise language is used, it may end up costing more money, in the long run, because of interpretation problems.
8.Make Plans
Making a will gives you assurance that your affairs are in order. Preparation of an estate plan includes powers of attorney to deal with incapacity and personal care issues. Consider funeral arrangements and organ donations too.
9.Revisit Your Will
Even though you have a will, marriage, separation, divorce, or the birth of a child all mean your will must be revised. Unless your will is current, it cannot reflect your needs. Changes in your assets, beneficiaries, estate trustees, and the law require regular reviews of your will and estate plan.
10.Don't Lose It
Remember to keep a copy of your will at home and the original in a safe place. Make sure someone knows where it is. What good is a well-written will if no one ever finds it?
Showing posts with label divorce. Show all posts
Showing posts with label divorce. Show all posts
Sunday, February 8, 2009
divorce
Divorce or dissolution of marriage is a legal process that leads to the end of a marriage.
Divorce laws vary considerably around the world. Divorce is not permitted in some countries, such as in Malta and in the Philippines, though an annulment is permitted.
The legal process for divorce may also involve issues of spousal support, child custody, child support, distribution of property and division of debt, though these matters are usually only ancillary or consequential to the dissolution of the marriage.
In some jurisdictions divorce does not require a party to claim fault of their partner that leads to the breakdown of marriage. But even in jurisdictions which have adopted the "no fault" principle in divorce proceedings, a court may still take into account the behaviour of the parties when dividing property, debts, evaluating custody, and support.
In most jurisdictions, a divorce must be certified by a court of law to become effective. The terms of the divorce are usually determined by the court, though they may take into account prenuptial agreements or postnuptial agreements, or simply ratify terms that the spouses may have agreed to privately. In the absence of agreement, a contested divorce may be stressful to the spouses and lead to expensive litigation. Less adversarial approaches to divorce settlements have recently emerged, such as mediation and collaborative divorce, which negotiate mutually acceptable resolution to conflicts. In some other countries, like Portugal, when the spouses agree to divorce and to the terms of the divorce, it can be certified by a non judiciary administrative entity, where also can be served an Electronic Divorce since March 2008.
In cases involving children, governments have a pressing interest in ensuring that disputes between parents do not spill over into the family courts. One way of doing this is through the encouragement of a parenting plan. In the United States, all states now require parents to file a parenting plan when they legally separate or divorce.
The subject of divorce as a social phenomenon is an important research topic in sociology. In many developed countries, divorce rates increased markedly during the twentieth century. Among the nations in which divorce has become commonplace are the United States, Canada, and Scandinavia. Japan , France, and Italy retain a lower divorce rate, and it has decreased recently.
From Wiki
Divorce laws vary considerably around the world. Divorce is not permitted in some countries, such as in Malta and in the Philippines, though an annulment is permitted.
The legal process for divorce may also involve issues of spousal support, child custody, child support, distribution of property and division of debt, though these matters are usually only ancillary or consequential to the dissolution of the marriage.
In some jurisdictions divorce does not require a party to claim fault of their partner that leads to the breakdown of marriage. But even in jurisdictions which have adopted the "no fault" principle in divorce proceedings, a court may still take into account the behaviour of the parties when dividing property, debts, evaluating custody, and support.
In most jurisdictions, a divorce must be certified by a court of law to become effective. The terms of the divorce are usually determined by the court, though they may take into account prenuptial agreements or postnuptial agreements, or simply ratify terms that the spouses may have agreed to privately. In the absence of agreement, a contested divorce may be stressful to the spouses and lead to expensive litigation. Less adversarial approaches to divorce settlements have recently emerged, such as mediation and collaborative divorce, which negotiate mutually acceptable resolution to conflicts. In some other countries, like Portugal, when the spouses agree to divorce and to the terms of the divorce, it can be certified by a non judiciary administrative entity, where also can be served an Electronic Divorce since March 2008.
In cases involving children, governments have a pressing interest in ensuring that disputes between parents do not spill over into the family courts. One way of doing this is through the encouragement of a parenting plan. In the United States, all states now require parents to file a parenting plan when they legally separate or divorce.
The subject of divorce as a social phenomenon is an important research topic in sociology. In many developed countries, divorce rates increased markedly during the twentieth century. Among the nations in which divorce has become commonplace are the United States, Canada, and Scandinavia. Japan , France, and Italy retain a lower divorce rate, and it has decreased recently.
From Wiki
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