Estate Planning Law & Legal Definition

The overall planning of a person's wealth is estate planning. All of the assets owned or controlled by a decedent and the debts that were the responsibility of the decedent at the time of deceased’s death are included in estate planning. Estate planning includes the preparation of a will and the planning for taxes after the individual's death. In order to meet a person’s goals with respect to preparing for incapacity and death, numerous factors such as financial, estate law, insurance, investment, and tax implications must be taken into consideration.

Usually, estate planning includes;

creation of a will;

limiting estate taxes by setting up trust accounts in the name of beneficiaries;

appointing a guardian for living dependents;

appointing an executor of the estate to oversee the terms of the will;

making funeral arrangements; and

establishment of annual gifting to reduce the taxable estate.