SKIP TO SITE NAVIGATION  |  SWITCH TO GRAPHICAL VERSION

Estate Planning

Estate planning is no longer just for the very wealthy—it is for anyone who wishes to control the distribution of their assets, name the guardian of their dependents, and help reduce the tax burden to their heirs.

In general, estate planning is a very complex, ongoing process. Your needs and the needs of your family change over time, and as a result, your estate plan needs to be flexible and periodically reviewed. Wachovia Securities Financial Advisors are competent professionals who will call upon the resources of other wealth management professionals, such as your tax and legal advisors, to work together to help you protect the financial success you've worked hard to secure.

Here are some articles that will also help with your estate planning:

Living Trusts
A living trust is a trust that allows you to remain both the trustee and the beneficiary of the trust while you're alive. Upon your death, a designated executor distributes the remaining assets according to the terms set in the trust.
Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT)
A charitable remainder trust is a trust that allows you to leave assets to a charity and receive income and tax benefits at the same time. You can receive income from the trust for a specified period of time, after which all remaining assets are transferred to the charity.
Community Property
Community property is a method for defining the ownership of property acquired during marriage. Community-property laws exist in certain states only.
Estate-Tax Change and the Credit Shelter Trust
A credit shelter trust (sometimes called a family trust) is a widely accepted and beneficial estate planning strategy. However, the changing exemption amount under the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) may affect your plans.
Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts
An irrevocable life trust is a legal arrangement that gives a trustee control over select assets and cannot be modified once it is established. Under this arrangement, the insurance proceeds are paid to the trust at your death.

Email this article

09/07 0807-62565
Securities and Insurance Products: Not Insured by FDIC or any Federal Government Agency; May Lose Value; Not a Deposit of or Guaranteed by a Bank or any Bank Affiliate Wachovia Securities is the trade name used by two separate, registered broker-dealers and non-bank affiliates of Wachovia Corporation providing certain retail securities brokerage services: Wachovia Securities, LLC, Member NYSE/SIPC, and Wachovia Securities Financial Network, LLC, Member FINRA /SIPC.

Wachovia Securities is not a tax or legal advisor.

Member FDIC. Only deposit products are FDIC insured.

Wachovia Securities Statement of Financial Condition
Audited - December 31, 2007
Unaudited - June 30, 2008

Adobe Acrobat documents require Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you don't already have this software installed, you can download it for free from Adobe's Web site. Get Acrobat Reader now.

Access Accounts
Personal Finance Login

Apply Now
All Application Forms

Related Links

Wealth Management
Transfer an Account

Personal Finance Customer Service

Personal Finance Contacts
Locations
Personal Finance FAQs
Site Map
Glossary
Search


Navigation

Personal Finance Section Navigation

Main Sections of the Site

Search