Should I Give All My Assets to My Children?

This would depend. More than any other type of estate planning, a good long term care plan must be tailored to the individual family and the family's assets. One size does not fit all. It is true that sometimes it will work to have your assets controlled by your children, but this is a small minority of the time.

The key to proper estate planning is to keep as much control over your life and your assets as possible. Giving your assets to your children does not achieve that goal. Not only are the assets out of your control, but they are also subject to all of your children's creditors, the stability of their marriages, their own health concerns, and their financial difficulties. Good long term care planning protects your assets, whereas giving your assets to your children subjects the assets to additional risk. Assets should only be divested as part of a carefully crafted plan developed with the assistance of a qualified professional advisor. A carefully designed custom plan will allow you to keep the greatest degree of control.