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How to Give Division Home |
Planning for the People You Love
The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture has developed this estate planner to help you ensure your family and others important to you receive the maximum benefit after you are gone. You’ve worked hard for years and you’ve accumulated wealth through your hard work, wise decisions, investments and savings. You own your home and possibly a farm or a business or rental property. As you look ahead, you recognize the need to plan your estate so that you and no one else determines who will share and benefit from your legacy. You may have put off planning your estate even though you recognize that estate planning is critical, because you may think that organizing your plan is extremely difficult or complex. It may be far easier than you think. The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture has developed this estate planning guide to help you ensure your family and others important to you receive the maximum benefit after you are gone. This planner lays out an easy-to-follow, four-step process for estate planning. The Four "Ps" in this process are property, people, planners and plan. Step One: During the first step, you will list all of your property or assets that you have accumulated over time. (MSWord PDF) Step Two: Next, you need to consider carefully the people you want to remember in your estate plan. You may want to include your immediate and then extended family. You may also want to include organizations that have made a real difference in your life such as your church, your local Cooperative Extension County office or a statewide Division of Agriculture program. (MSWord PDF) Step Three: You will want to list the professional planners you will need to involve in your estate planning such as your Certified Financial Planner (CFP), attorney, Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and/or life insurance agent. (MSWord PDF) Step Four: Once you have listed your full property value and the people and planners, you are then ready to develop your estate plan. Here, you will decide what percentage of your estate you want to leave to benefit family members, organizations and others. You may also want to make specific provisions for leaving treasured personal possessions to certain individuals. (MSWord PDF) Whether you think you have an extensive estate or not, now is an excellent time to begin the "Four P" estate planning process. If you have an estate plan that is more than a year old, you may want to review it. These days, the value of your property and the people you’ve included in your estate plan may change. You will want to make sure you have an up-to-date plan that truly benefits those who mean so much to you. If you need to change your estate plan, you may need to contact your estate planner(s). If you do not have a planner, you are welcome to contact your county Cooperative Extension office or either of the Division of Agriculture’s Offices of Development. We will provide unbiased, objective criteria to help you plan and identify a well-qualified planner. For assistance or more information contact your county Cooperative Extension office or either Office of Development: Little Rock’s office at 501-671-2079 or the Fayetteville office at 479-575-2250. Finalizing Your Planning If this is the first time you have completed a detailed estate plan, you should now meet with an estate planner. Also, if this review affects your existing will or living trust, you will want to meet with a planner as well. If you have questions about the Four "Ps" planning process or do not know a qualified financial or estate planner, contact your county Extension office or either Office of Development: Little Rock’s office at 501-671-2079 or the Fayetteville office at 479-575-2250. We will be happy to provide you objective criteria for identifying a qualified financial or estate planner. Extension’s Legacy Society for Deferred Gift Donors The University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service provides special recognition and programs for couples and individuals who remember Cooperative Extension in their estate plans, e.g., through their will, living trust, a gift of life insurance, a remainder life estate, etc. Full membership privileges are granted to those who will be providing a deferred gift of $25,000 or more. "Sustaining Membership" is granted to individuals and couples who have provided for a deferred gift of less than $25,000. Regular Society members are invited to an annual Cooperative Extension event for donors. In addition, Cooperative Extension staff members extend invitations to regular and sustaining Legacy Society members for special conferences, workshops, demonstrations and so forth. Members are recognized in Cooperative Extension publications; permanent, distinctive wall plaques; and through news releases as approved by each donor. To receive additional information about the Legacy Society, please contact the Little Rock Office of Development at 501-671-2079. The completion of this or any other informal, estate-planning guide does not constitute a legally binding document. Please consult with legal counsel and other professional financial planners about the requirements of developing a will or living trust, as well as the ways in which you may legally distribute your assets at the time of your death. Planning you love for the people Decisions involving planning your estate are difficult at times. We hope this estate planning outline has helped to ensure that your family and others important to you receive the maximum benefit after you are gone. We hope you will consider the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture as you remember organizations that have made an important difference in your life or the lives of loved ones. For assistance or more information contact your county Extension office or the Division’s development offices in either Little Rock (501-671-2079) or Fayetteville (479-575-2250). (MSWord PDF) The completion of this or any other informal, estate-planning guide does not constitute a legally binding document. Please consult with legal counsel and other professional financial planners about the requirements of developing a will or living trust, as well as the ways in which you may legally distribute your assets at the time of your death. |
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University of Arkansas • Division of Agriculture |
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Look
to the Division of Agriculture for help with estate planning.