Few phrases sum up Scouting better than the Scout Motto: “Be Prepared.” All of us can reflect on times in our lives when being prepared helped us avoid danger, achieve our potential, and triumph during life’s challenges.

       We encourage Scouters to keep this ethos close to heart, especially when planning for your will and estate. As the end of the year approaches, it’s a great time to revisit this important topic.

       Being prepared often means having the information you need to make a plan to achieve your goals. This is rarely more important than when planning your estate. Your will is an opportunity to set goals for yourself, reflect on the people and causes that have shaped your life, and the values you hold dear.

       Regardless of your level of wealth, creating a legally valid will and selecting beneficiaries for your retirement assets is essential to help your loved ones avoid unnecessarily lengthy and costly probate proceedings and taxes. It also ensures that the assets you’ve worked hard for over your lifetime go to the people and causes you care about. For a helpful primer on probate, check out this USA Today article.

       For those of us with significant assets, it is essential to be prepared to navigate potential upcoming tax law changes. Currently, individuals can transfer up to $13.61 million ($27.22 million per couple) to heirs. Transfers of this amount or higher can be subject to the highest estate tax rates of up to 40%.

       This tax structure is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2025, as part of the sunsetting Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. A rollback of this act would reset the lifetime gift and estate tax exemption amount to an estimated $7 million per individual (and $14 million per couple).

       With uncertainty and potentially significant changes coming up, it is essential to be prepared.We recommend you speak with your financial advisor, estate planner, or attorney to get the best advice for your circumstances. Below are tips that all Scouters can benefit from:

• Be sure to have a written, legally valid plan for all your assets, including cash, retirement funds and investment accounts, real estate, life insurance policies, donor-advised funds, and more.
• Be tax-smart when gifting your assets to heirs and charities. Providing low-cost-basis assets (often long-held stock and IRA assets) to charity and high-cost-basis assets (cash, mature bonds, newly purchased real estate, etc.) to heirs will help your heirs avoid unnecessary taxation.

       If you have loved ones, consider the best way to transfer assets to them when you’re gone. Charitable planning tools exist to help you shield assets from taxation, provide loved ones with a dependable stream of support over a fixed period, or extend your values to the next generation with intergenerational giving strategies. For more on the benefits of these tools, reach out to your trusted financial planner or our Gift Planning lead, Justin Rodstrom, at Justin.Rodstrom@Scouting.org or visit bsalegacy.org.