Episode 204 - The Best Estate Plan for Married Couples, Lange’s Cascading Beneficiary Plan, with Attorney Matt Schwartz

Uncertainly has long been the enemy of estate planning as family, financial, and even legal circumstances can change dramatically over time. An estate plan that is intricately thought through and in-line with your testamentary intent today could be inappropriate once you die.However in the early nineties, Jim began thinking creatively about this problem. Lange’s Cascading Beneficiary Plan, as it came to be called, uses specific language and disclaimers to provide the most flexibility when it is needed the most—at the time of the death of the first spouse when the surviving spouse and the family have the most current picture of their finances and family dynamics. No more guess work decades in advance. The plan was first picked up by Jane Bryant Quinn in 2001 and published in Newsweek and from there it has been featured in peer-reviewed journals and in dozens of major publications like The Wall Street Journal and Kiplinger’s.Lange Legal Group, LLC has drafted 2,444 estate planning documents to date, most of which incorporate elements of this superb plan. Tonight on The Lange Money Hour, our lead estate attorney, Matthew Schwartz and Jim will discuss Lange’s Cascading Beneficiary Plan in detail as well as offer examples of how beautifully it has worked out over time for our clients and their families.Using disclaimers, this plan can offer great tax benefits, but it also gives the opportunity to provide children with some inheritance money earlier than at the death of both of their parents—that can be very helpful especially during the years when they are raising your grandchildren or trying to send them to college.Tonight, Matt and Jim will shed fresh light on how Lange's Cascading Beneficiary Plan uses disclaimer planning and specialized language to help IRA and retirement plan owners prepare for the unknown. You will learn:The details of the plan: how and why it worksWhat disclaimer planning entailsHow to include a disclaimer in your estate planThe downsides of disclaimersThe tax implications of disclaimersHow Lange's Cascading Beneficiary Plan might be even more useful when the Death of the Stretch IRA legislation passes.