Most of us spend little time thinking about death or losing the capacity to manage our own affairs. These are unpleasant topics and banishing them from our minds is easier than entertaining them. Death, however, is inevitable and becoming incapacitated is not likely, but possible.

What would happen if you could no longer handle your finances or communicate your health care decisions? Who would make important decisions for you about these kinds of things or manage and distribute your assets after you die? These are some of the underlying questions in estate planning.

1. Buy enough life insurance. A parent is irreplaceable, but someone will have to fill in if the worst happens. It may be siblings or other relatives. In all likelihood, that family will have to pay for at least some services the parent or parents had provided when able. If the estate is not large enough for this purpose, it can be made large enough through life insurance proceeds. Premiums for second-to-die insurance (which pays off only when the second of two parents passes away) can be surprisingly low.

2. Set up a trust. Any funds left for a child with special needs, whether from an estate or the proceeds of a life insurance policy, should be held in trust for his or her benefit. Leaving money for anyone with a special need jeopardizes public benefits. Many people with special needs cannot manage funds, especially large amounts. Some families disinherit children with special needs, relying on their siblings to care for them. This approach is fraught with potential problems. Siblings can be sued, get divorced, disagree on their responsibilities, or run off with the funds. It can also cause tax problems for the siblings. The best approach is a trust fund set aside for the child with special needs.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) took effect on Jan. 1, 2018, and impacted personal income taxes, small businesses, estate tax rules, capital gains rules, special needs accounts, and much more. The TCJA is scheduled to sunset at the end of 2025. This will lead to significant changes for taxpayers. So, are there ways to avoid potential tax impacts to you or your loved ones? Read on to learn more.

In the wake of the pandemic, rising inflation, mass shooting tragedies, and other events, more people recognize that they need to plan for the future. Yet while financial planning has been at the top of many Americans’ minds, a vast majority of people have stalled in creating an estate plan.

According to a new study completed by Caring.com, a mere one in three people has an estate plan in place. Worse yet, more than 40 percent of those without a will report that they wouldn’t create one until they had encountered a serious health concern.

One aspect of your estate plan that you may not yet have taken into consideration is your digital legacy. Arranging what happens to your digital assets and information when you pass away has become an increasingly essential component of financial literacy — and comprehensive estate planning.

Elder law and estate planning serve two different -- but equally vital -- functions. The main difference is that elder law is focused on preserving your assets during your lifetime, while estate planning concentrates on what happens to your assets after you die.