The term is often described as having originated in Renaissance Italy, where there allegedly existed the tradition of smashing a banker's bench if he defaulted on payment

Estate planning or inheritance planning is the process of anticipating and arranging for the management of a person's estate or net worth during the person's life in preparation for future incapacity or death

This may be done for tax reasons or to control the property and its benefits if the settlor is absent, incapacitated, or deceased

An attorney-in-fact may be a layperson and is authorized to act pursuant to the powers granted by a power of attorney but may not engage in acts that would constitute the unauthorized practice of law

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The probated will then becomes a legal instrument that may be enforced by the executor in the law courts if necessary

After the net amount is computed, the value of lifetime taxable gifts (beginning with gifts made in 1977) is added to this number and the tax is computed