Do I have to tell My husband?

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Hi Shade,

My name is Gloria, I got married 5 years ago at 35. Before the wedding, I already built a house at Mowe, a block of  6 flats, and I have other undeveloped property that I didn’t tell my husband about(so as not to intimidate or repel him). My plan is to gift the property to my children as a start-up fund the moment they are done with university. Do I have to declare these assets to my husband? If anything happens to me along the line, how can I ensure my children get them? The property were bought in my name.

Answer:

Hi Gloria,

You can set up a Trust and transfer these assets to the Trust. The assets will be held in the name of your Trust/Trustee (a person or firm that holds and administers property or assets for the benefit of a third party) and in due course, income generated from these assets can be given to your children to start up their own businesses. Alternatively, at a designated time, your Trustee may sell your acquired real estate asset and give proceeds to your children as seed investment for their businesses. You can guide your trustees, even in absentia through a Letter of Wishes. Putting the assets in a Trust today offers the protection you require for the assets because such assets will be legally independent of you.

As you are still young and active, I would recommend that you set up a Trust that still leaves the role of management of your assets and investment decisions to you.

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Pass this to my children: an RSA Wills Story

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Pass this to my children!

Like most fathers, I would like to leave a good inheritance to my children. Something that can give them a good start in life by which they can remember me long after I’m gone. Some fathers are affluent enough to buy their children houses and even replace such houses when the child is not satisfied. But I hardly have anything, save for this house we live in and another plot of land in the village.

When my friend spoke about setting up a will, I laughed as I asked him what assets we have to set up a will on. Feeling smug, I told him of my age long plan; upon my retirement, I will call my children and give each child 10 % of my pension fund.  This would surely give them a head start in life and I would still have 60% to fall back on in old age. Maybe I would start a small business thereafter to keep me busy.   ‘What will become of your house and your land in the village?’ my friend asked. ‘My children can do whatever they like with them when I’m gone’, I told him.

Nodding, my friend agreed. ‘It’s not a bad plan, your pension is a substantial asset’, he said. ‘But what if the unfortunate happens before you retire, what will happen to your pension?’  Pausing to think, I answered assuredly. ‘Well, it will amount to almost the same thing; the pension will still go to my children’. ‘Ken, these things are not automatic o, if you want your pension to go to your children, you need to set up a Will for your pensions account, naming your children as your beneficiaries,’ he explained, opening my eyes to a reality I had not considered.

Many of us have plans for our pension funds. Plans to reinvest it; live on it or even pass it on to our children. Most of us however do not consider setting up a plan that will ensure our pension fund is distributed based on our wishes in case of unforeseen circumstances. A Retirement Savings Account Will (RSA Will) is a legal document set up by an individual stating clearly what should happen to his/her pension fund upon demise. This document allows you to state beneficiaries to the funds and what portion they receive.

In the case where a person passes on without setting up an RSA Will, his pension funds cannot be given to anyone, not even his next of kin. The law requires that for any other person to be able to claim the deceased’s pension, he/she must provide an RSA Will or a letter of administration obtained from the court. Obtaining a letter of administration is a tedious and time consuming process; more exhausting than the process of obtaining letter of administration is the strife and bitterness that may emanate among family members over such unallocated funds.

Setting up an RSA Will is easy and affordable; the wise thing to do is to set up an RSA Will today.

Preparing for the future does not mean you are inviting loss. On the contrary, the assurance that your future is secure enables you enjoy life more. Let us walk you through setting up an RSA Will, call ARM Trustees today.

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Room Service

15 minutes to 4, Laura muttered, averting her gaze from the wall clock above the hotel bed. Slipping out of her shoes, she powered her iPad wondering how much she could do…

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Who is most entitled to Steve’s money?

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Managing your assets and protecting your property

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While a Will is a good method of estate planning, a more effective method is to create a trust alongside a Will. Trusts are becoming an increasingly popular way of managing assets and protecting property. Private trusts are especially beneficial in planning one’s estate as it makes provisions for individuals as beneficiaries. A trust is a relationship that arises when one person (the Settlor), transfers property to another person (the Trustee) to hold that property for the benefit of himself or others (the Beneficiaries).  The legal instrument used for creating a trust is the Trust Deed.

Although a Will may successfully transfer assets to other people it does not come into effect till the maker of the Will dies. Where a person desires to transfer a part of his estate during his lifetime, a trust would be a good way to achieve this. A trust may come into effect before death, at death or afterwards depending on the terms of the trust.

A common objective of Will creators may be to leave property for successive generations; unfortunately the reality of this is different as there is no guarantee that the gifted assets would survive the next generation. By contrast, the life of a trust is dependent on the terms of the trust and in some jurisdictions may transcend a hundred years. A trust would usually have more than one set of beneficiaries, each set being a different generation.A trust can hold property, bank accounts, and other types of assets; a direct result of this is that the trust will not only have longevity but it will operate in the same manner as the settlor would have even after several generations. A trust is a guaranteed means of building wealth for future generations.

A person whose estate is being planned may wish to enjoy some benefits from his estate while he is still alive. Where this is the objective a living trust may be created. A trustee is obligated to invest the assets in a trust. The Settlor, according to the terms of the trust may enjoy the wealth created by the trust assets during his life time.

Beneficiaries of a trust need not go through probate which is a tedious and long process. The assets in a trust may be accessed immediately the trust becomes active. This is in contrast to Wills which must go through probate. The details of a private trust are confidential

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When do I write my Will? Learn how

There is no set or appropriate time to make a Will. Creating one has nothing to do with age (although most countries have put into place age restrictions on the making of Wills), wealth or state of health. Seemingly insignificant assets can be protected by Wills, trust or any other means of estate planning.

A Will is an instrument by which a person makes provision for the disposition of his property after his death. The loss of a loved one is a hard ordeal for most and the last thing anyone would want to do at that point is to engage in conflict over an estate. It is an effective means of minimising conflict and protecting one’s loved ones from dealing with bureaucracy at a time of sadness. A valid Will specifies how each property of the demised should be distributed and the testator’s wishes are often followed precisely.

As death is inevitable and in most cases unpredictable, it is necessary that anyone who owns assets make a Will. However, some life changing events make this even more necessary. Getting married, getting divorced and having kids are significant changes to one’s personal relationships. Writing one would reflect one’s intentions for these persons after death.

Some other events that make the writing or changing of an existing Will important are when a person acquires new assets, when a person has started a new business or when a previous Will is simply out of date.

A man who dies without a Will has lawyers as his heirs. The process of obtaining letters of administration is a tiresome one and requires the services of lawyers. These lawyers would need to be paid and these payments would be made out of the estate of the deceased person. Leaving it minimises costs and ensures that the bulk of one’s estate goes to one’s beneficiaries.

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Ensuring life does not throw us unpleasant surprises

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Ever been in a situation that seemed entirely impossible until it happened? I think most people have because life has a knack for being unpredictable. They say hindsight is 20/20; unfortunately hindsight or regret provides no opportunities to remedy decisions wrongfully made in the past. While we may not be able to accurately predict the future or change the past to favour the present we can put plans in place to ensure that life does not throw us unpleasant surprises and that we have little or no regrets if these surprises come our way. One way to achieve this is through estate planning, more specifically through writing a Will and creating a trust.

The thought of planning one’s estate is usually a scary one as it makes people painfully aware of their mortality.Whatever misgivings one may have, it is more practical than it is scary to plan one’s estate in detail than to leave one’s affairs to eventualities. Estate planning in reality has little to do with impending death and more to do with protecting one’s interest.

Estate planning is the process of preparing for the transfer of a person’s wealth and assets after his or her death or in the event of mental incapacity.  This can be done at any time during one’s lifetime. One’s estate is comprised of everything one owns; this may include their home, other real estate, bank accounts, insurance, etc. Estate planning is not a process reserved for the affluent. Almost everyone owns an estate.The process of estate planning can be a complicated one, so it is best to consult an Estate Advisor, a lawyer and financial adviser when drawing up your estate plan and preparing for unpleasant surprises.

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Why You Should Plan For Tomorrow Today

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Imagine this…

Chijioke was very successful and had a nice family. Sadly, he passed on in a car accident. Chijioke died intestate (without a Will) leaving behind his wife and four kids.

Since he did not have a Will, his estate was taken over by his greedy siblings and relatives who never knew how hard Chijioke and his wife had worked to live a comfortable life, thereby leaving his wife and children in penury. The other assets not taken over by the relatives were taken by creditors and the Banks from which Chijoke had borrowed some money to expand his import business.

All this happened because he never planned for such uncertainties, like many of us. Being a young man, he just did not think it was the right time to make arrangements for the unseen future, so he did not plan for tomorrow.

This is not another Superstory. This story has become a classic and plays out day after day.

ARM Trustees is already assisting you to think and plan for tomorrow in advance by offering you its Retirement Savings Account (RSA) Will services. An “RSA” is an important component of any employee’s assets and an “RSA Will” describes how you would like the funds in your Retirement Savings Account to be distributed upon your demise.

As your trusted partner, we urge you to put the necessary Will in place today, clearly outlining the beneficiaries of your retirement benefits and other assets to ensure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes.

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