October 17 - 23 is National Estate Planning Awareness Week

Organization is a critical part of estate planning

By Executor's Resource, Inc.

In September 2008, Congress enacted HR 1499 which set aside the third full week in October each year as National Estate Planning Awareness Week. This year it is observed from October 17 – 23.

Whether you have a proper estate plan or not, inventorying your important information -- legal, financial, digital and personal -- is a critical part of estate planning. All too often, families struggle after a loved one passes to simply locate the details and papers needed to settle the estate and honor their loved one's wishes. Don't let this happen to your family.

Here are 5 easy, inexpensive things that you can do to have a better organized estate and legacy.

1) Use our estate organization checklist to identify what you have, where it's located, and who to contact.

2) Review the beneficiary designations on your major insurance policies and financial accounts. Is the person currently named in line with your wishes? If yes, great. If no, you have some updates to do.

3) Gather a listing of your computer and online accounts -- emails, blogs, paypal, etc. Inventory login credentials so your loved ones will be able to have future access.

4) Check the paperwork for your safe deposit box. Is your future executor/personal representative formally named as someone who can have access? If not, they may run into issues. At a bare minimum, make sure this person knows where the key is.

5) Have "the talk" with your future executor or personal representative. Your wishes are best made known by having a frank conversation with those you love.

Our EstateLogic subscribers love that they can do all of this and more online in their own private, secure vault. We encourage you to check it out - we bet that you'll feel the same.

Estate Tax Alert: State of Oregon

Attention Oregon residents or any non-resident who owns property in the state of Oregon. Change is on the way! We encourage you to contact an estate attorney to get your estate plan reviewed in light of the anticipated changes.

On January 1, 2012, the Oregon's current inheritance tax will change in several ways. According to About.com's Wills & Estate Planning expert Julie Garber, three primary changes will occur:

1) The name of the tax will change from "inheritance" tax to "estate" tax. This brings Oregon's law in line with the majority of the states and the federal government which define an estate tax as one that applies to the entire value of the estate versus a tax that is applicable only to select beneficiaries of an estate.

2) The second change is in how the exemption amount of $1,000,000 (amount to remain the same) is applied. Presently, once an estate's value exceeds $1,000,000, the entire value is taxed. Post 1/1/2012, the tax will only apply to the amount of the estate that exceeds $1,000,000.

3) New rates will be in effect after 1/1/2012, the net result being that estates valued between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000 will experience a decrease versus current day rates, and those valued over $2,000,000 will experience an increase.

Ms. Garber provides a link to a table outlining the new rates here as well as an updated version of state estate tax and exemption chart. If you are uncertain about the laws that govern in your state of residence (or in a state where you own property), it's worth a read now to be fully informed.

Remember, the changes occurring in Oregon from the federal estate tax. For a quick review of the 2010 changes to the body of law that governs the federal estate and inheritance taxes click here.

Top 5 Estate Planning Must Reads from September 2011

If you're on Twitter or Facebook, but don't currently follow us, here's our Top 5 list for September 2011 of must read articles about estate planning, organization, and settlement. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did!


1. How to properly name IRA beneficiaries: http://bit.ly/nuNRHi
2. It's time to have the talk -- 6 things to do before your spouse dies: http://onforb.es/onX8od
3. Top 5 reasons to avoid joint ownership between generations: http://onforb.es/osOcee
4. Have you talked with your family about your estate plan? The WSJ shares some pointers: http://on.wsj.com/ro4mRU
5. On legacies with strings attached: http://on.wsj.com/qNtq3p 

To follow our future postings, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Take action with your own affairs today -- check out EstateLogic, our online estate organizer, at www.EstateLogic.com.