Digital assets — Does your estate plan account for today’s technology?

Many people today conduct a good part of their business and personal lives electronically. These activities generate valuable “digital assets.” Without addressing these assets in an estate plan, one’s family or other representatives may not be able to access them without going to court and, in some cases, may not even know that they exist. This article explains why it’s so important to not overlook digital documents and the steps necessary to be sure they’ll be accessible by the appropriate people when the time comes. A sidebar lists several companies that offer online services for passing on digital assets to loved ones.
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Before walking down the aisle … Consider the benefits of a prenup

Prenuptial agreements are commonly associated with divorce. And while such an agreement provides a couple control over assets in the event of a split, it can also preserve one’s estate by protecting assets from creditors and help ensure the estate is distributed according to the decedent’s wishes. This article explains how both prenuptial and postnuptial agreements may figure into estate planning.
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TICs offer simple alternative to FLP, FLLC

For affluent families, family limited partnerships (FLPs) and family limited liability companies (FLLCs) can be effective vehicles for reducing gift and estate taxes and protecting assets from creditors. But they also have some downsides. As this article explains, transferring tenancy in common (TIC) interests can be an attractive alternative for certain tangible assets — particularly real estate. But there are both pros and cons to this approach.
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Estate Planning Pitfall —You haven’t properly funded your living trust

Probate can be costly and time consuming, and its public nature raises privacy concerns. An effective tool for avoiding probate is a revocable, or “living,” trust. It can also be used to manage assets if one becomes incapacitated. For it to work, one must transfer assets to it that would otherwise go through probate. Once the estate plan is complete, however, it’s easy to overlook the need to transfer later-acquired assets to the trust. This article explains the procedures for transferring assets, and which assets shouldn’t be transferred to a trust.
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