Implementing Your Estate Plan
While the legal and financial issues can be complex, the purposes of estate planning are simple: to ensure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes at your death, and to help preserve assets by minimizing estate taxes and other expenses associated with inheritance.
A good estate plan:
- Identifies who will inherit your assets and how your beneficiaries will receive them.
- Determines who will manage your estate and who can act on your behalf if you are incapacitated.
- Minimizes estate taxes, income taxes, and administrative costs for your heirs.
- Provides funds to cover immediate family needs.
- Helps avoid conflicts and protects your family’s privacy.
TIAA-CREF Trust Company can administer and manage personal trusts established under an estate plan. In addition, our TIAA-CREF's Wealth Planning Specialists can provide the expertise to work with your attorney and tax advisor to implement your estate plan.
