When a Nevada person decides to begin estate planning, one of the main reasons is to control where assets will go at the time of death. This allows a person to express their wishes as to who will get use of their money after they die. Wills are estate planning documents that can instruct a designated executor in the distribution of an estate. At the time of a person's death, the will is often probated and after debts are satisfied, assets can be remitted to beneficiaries under the direction of the court. These beneficiaries can be children, pets, organizations or any person specified by the decedent.
Do-it-yourself wills: Do they work?
There are often do-it-yourself options for estate planning, with even some states having fill-in-the-blanks forms on their state websites, but do these types of estate planning documents provide the best benefit for residents in Nevada?
Early estate planning can seek to avoid taxes
Estate planning is important for every Nevada resident, no matter the size of one's estate. There are even more reasons to plan and periodically review for people who have significant assets. Early estate planning can help protect beneficiaries from having to pay large amounts of taxes at the time of death, and a review of plans already in place can ensure the opportunity to take advantage of changing laws and circumstances.
Las Vegas casino part of estate sale
Las Vegas residents may be aware that Fitzgerald's Casino was sold last October to Golden Gate casino's majority owners. What residents may not know is that representatives of the estate of Don Barden negotiated and arranged the sale. Barden was the first African-American casino owner in the United States and owned properties here in Las Vegas and around the nation at the time of his death.
Trust administration dispute over oldest U.S. charitable trust
Nevada readers of this blog may be interested in a dispute involving the nation's oldest charitable trust. The trust, created 351 years ago before the founding of the country, set aside 35 acres of seafront property for the benefit of public school children. However, those in charge of the trust administration wish to effectively nullify the will that created the charitable trust.
