An estate-planning lawyer friend of mine and I were on the 11:10 p.m. train out of Grand Central in New York. As we approached his station, I noticed that he had fallen asleep. I didn’t want him to miss it, so I shook him gently. No response. I shook him vigorously. Still no response. Finally I said, “Quick, Harold, what is estate planning?” With that he jumped up and shouted, “Estate planning is the orderly and systematic transfer of a client’s wealth and assets into fees and commissions!”
Well, that may be good estate planning for Harold, but not for the rest of us. Simply put, estate planning involves providing for yourself, family members and causes you care about right now and later during retirement. You should also provide for the contingency of disability (both physical and fiscal). And there’s a lot more, like savings income, capital gains, and gift and estate taxes.
Read the entire article in the March 1999 issue
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