Need for a Will

A will is important because if you do not designate who will inherit your property, a state statute will. The statutory distribution scheme (known as “intestate distribution”) will often provide for results differing from your wishes. If you have property in several states, the rules in each state may be different concerning who will be entitled to your properties.

Typically, intestate law divides the decedent's estate between the surviving spouse and living children; however, many people are surprised by the actual division made by state law. Even if the decedent does not have children, the spouse may not inherit the entire estate.

Perhaps most importantly for those of you with minor children, a will gives you the opportunity to designate a guardian for your children if your spouse does not survive you. You have better understanding than a court as to who of your relatives or friends will best be able to care for your children, both emotionally and financially. Your will can put this designation in place, identifying the best person for each type of function.

Moreover, because your children are minors, the court will require a fiduciary (e.g., a guardian or trustee) to be appointed to receive and manage that property the children inherit. This can be a cumbersome and expensive process, requiring court supervision throughout the time the children are minors.

A will can also simplify the probate process for your survivors. For example, you can designate a personal representative (also known as an executor) to handle the transfer of properties in your estate. You can direct how taxes and debts should be paid. You can waive state limitations on funeral expenses payable from your estate and enable your estate to take maximum advantage of estate tax savings.

We do hope that this explanation is a sufficient beginning to enable you to understand the practical necessity of having a Last Will.

Please contact one of our Wealth Advocates at Wade Financial Group to arrange an appointment to discuss this matter in more detail.

Four 401-K Tips

We recently spoke on WCCO explaining four tips everyone should consider when looking at their 401-K.  As the stock market continues new highs breaking two records today, Monday November 18th 2013, with the Dow Jones hitting a record 16,000 and the S & P 500 hitting 1,800 it is worth checking in on your current 401-K.  Click here, WCCO Interview, to check out the four tips and listen to the interview.

Film Festival Reviews

Wade Financial Group founder Jerry Wade has been attending the Savannah film festival for over 5 years and is an avid film enthusiast.  Because of Jerry's passion for film it was only natural that Wade Financial Group recently helped sponsor the Twin Cities Film Festival.  Below we have an inside look of the top movies from each of these recent festivals.  Jatin Setia’s, the founder of the Twin Cities Film Festival, and Jerry Wade each give their top five movies from this year’s festivals.

Jerry’s Savannah Film Festival Top Five

1.      The Pretty One

When a woman's identical prettier twin sister dies, the woman assumes her sister's identity, moving into her apartment and the big city.

2.      About Tim

At the age of 21, Tim discovers he can travel in time and change what happens and has happened in his own life. His decision to make his world a better place by getting a girlfriend turns out not to be as easy as you might think.

3.      The Book Thief

While subjected to the horrors of World War II Germany, young Liesel finds solace by stealing books and sharing them with others. Under the stairs in her home, a Jewish refugee is being sheltered by her adoptive parents.

4.      Philomena

A world-weary political journalist picks up the story of a woman's search for her son, who was taken away from her decades ago after she became pregnant and was forced to live in a convent.

5.      Nebraska

An aging, booze-addled father makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim a million dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize.

Jatin’s Twin Cities Film Festival Top Five

1.     We Are What We Are

As an unrelenting downpour continues to flood a small town, the local authorities begin to uncover clues that bring them closer to the secret that the Parkers, a seemingly wholesome and benevolent family, have held closely for so many years.

2.     Winter in the Blood

Virgil wakes in a ditch on the hardscrabble plains of Montana, hungover and badly beaten. He returns home to his ranch on the reservation, only to find that his wife, Agnes, has left him. Worse, she's taken his beloved rifle. Virgil sets out of town find her - or perhaps just the gun - beginning a hi-line odyssey of inebriated and possibly imagined intrigues in town with the mysterious "Airplane Man", a beautiful barmaid, and two dangerous Men in Suits. Are they real? Or spirits guiding him away from his true path?

3.     The Armstrong Lie

Four years ago, Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney was commissioned to film Lance Armstrong's second comeback, for the 2009 Tour de France. Years later, following Armstrong's cheating confessions, Gibney returned to his original source material, discovering in the process an electrifying, red-handed portrait of a liar in action.

4.     August: Osage County

A dark, hilarious and deeply touching story of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose lives have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Midwestern house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them.

5.     Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Based on South African President Nelson Mandela's autobiography of the same name, which chronicles his early life, coming of age, education and 27 years in prison before becoming President and working to rebuild the country's once segregated society.