A Revocable Living Trust is a legal document that allows you to place your assets into a trust while retaining control over them during your lifetime. You can act as the trustee, managing the assets and making changes as needed. Upon your death, the assets are transferred to your beneficiaries without going through probate.
A Power of Attorney is a legal document that grants one person (the agent or attorney-in-fact) the authority to act on behalf of another person (the principal) in legal, financial, or health matters.
The marital deduction is a provision in U.S. tax law that allows an individual to transfer an unlimited amount of assets to their spouse upon death without incurring federal estate taxes. This deduction is designed to provide financial security for the surviving spouse by deferring estate taxes until their death.
The legal pronouncement of death is the formal declaration by a qualified individual that a person has died. This declaration is essential for initiating the legal processes that follow death, including the issuance of a death certificate, handling of the deceased’s estate, and arrangements for the body.
Intestate refers to the condition of an estate when a person dies without a valid will. In this case, the distribution of the deceased’s assets is governed by state intestacy laws rather than by the deceased’s personal wishes.
