Estate Planning and Trusts: An Interview with Attorney Ben Grosz

“If you don’t take the time to [make] an estate plan, the government has done so for you.”
–Ben Grosz

We hear about trusts and estates and think that they’re for the ultra-wealthy. I had the opportunity to interview trust and estate attorney Ben Grosz of Ivins, Phillips, & Barker to dig into the truth behind this misunderstood issue.

Here are some of the highlights of the video.

1:04 – What is estate planning and why is it important?
4:19 – Should we avoid probate? If so, how?
7:30 – Beneficiaries in estate planning
11:05 – What’s the difference between a trust and an estate?
13:01 – How does the 2013 tax law affect your estate planning?
16:22 – How do you use a trust to keep the kids from blowing their inheritance in Vegas?
20:30 – Preventing “trust fund babies” – how to keep your trust from creating the next Snooki
23:43 – At what level of wealth should we consider trusts? (You’ll be surprised at the answer)
29:20 – Getting life insurance out of your taxable estate

Also, you have to watch the entire interview to discover the difference between JFK’s will and the will of Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys.

If you’re concerned about doing your taxes correctly, I’ve used TurboTax Online for several years, and, despite the complicated status of our taxes, have had no problems filing my taxes, saving us almost $1,000 compared to what we were paying our accountant when he prepared our taxes.

And, as Ed McMahon would say, heeeere’s Ben!

Estate Planning and Trusts: An Interview With Ben Grosz

What did you think of the interview? What other interviews would you like to see? Tell us about it in the comments below!

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John Davis

John Davis is a nationally recognized expert on credit reporting, credit scoring, and identity theft. He has written four books about his expertise in the field and has been featured extensively in numerous media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, CNN, CBS News, CNBC, Fox Business, and many more. With over 20 years of experience helping consumers understand their credit and identity protection rights, John is passionate about empowering people to take control of their finances. He works with financial institutions to develop consumer-friendly policies that promote financial literacy and responsible borrowing habits.