Retirement Readiness Part 5 - Estate Planning

We break down the retirement-specific estate planning moves that protect your family if you cannot make decisions and keep your legacy from drifting off course. We focus on power of attorney, living trusts, and inherited IRA rules so your plan still works when real life gets messy. 

• What a power of attorney actually authorizes and why it matters more in retirement 
• Immediate vs springing power of attorney and the trade-offs of each 
• Why you cannot usually name a power of attorney after incapacity 
• Using a successor power of attorney and why younger backups often make sense 
• How a revocable living trust protects assets from in-laws, creditors, and poor timing 
• Why a will alone does not add guardrails after assets transfer 
• How retirement accounts and life insurance pass by beneficiary designation 
• Why naming a trust as contingent beneficiary can add control 
• Inherited IRA 10-year rule basics and what it can mean for taxes 
• How a large inherited IRA withdrawal can create a painful tax bill 
• Using Roth conversions to leave heirs a more tax-friendly legacy