Estate Planning is part of life planning. This is the period when you create a strategy ahead of time on one's possible demise leaving behind a legacy that could has bear fruit and will be picked up by the loved ones (heirs) of the estate.
What is an Estate?
An estate may composed of land (lot with improvements such as buildings, homes, farm, etc), personal belongings (e.g.s. jewelries, fine arts, cars or antiques) or possessions with financial or monetary value such as money deposited on bank,s stocks from listed companies or shares from non-listed companies or corporations the decedent owns when they were still alive.
How to Build your Estate Portfolio?
One should create a list and must be inventoried particularly personal belongings, for real estate properties there should a database including the description of property in detail from photos including the copies of the original certificate of title / transfer certificate of title / condominium certificate of title the said real estate properties in a document and the original copies should be stored in safe and secure place like a bank vault. Writing a will is necessary to partition the estate in equal distribution on the discretion of the decedent (person writing and executing the will).
What is a Will?
In a definition from Merriam Webster dictionary defines this as a legal declaration of a person's wishes regarding the disposal of his or her property or estate after death. It is a written instrument legally executed by which a person makes disposition of his or her estate to take effect after death.
What if there is No Will left by the decedent?
Extra-judicial settlement of estate should have been done and executed by the heirs in order to transfer the estate or inheritance in their names if there was no will left by the original owner(s). The decedent or heirs should have internal agreement on preventing misunderstanding and conflicts on the partition of the property / properties whether to use it as it is or to sell the properties or belongings of the estate and should pay the right taxes using the newly established tax amnesty law.
Conclusion
With the existing Tax Amnesty Law (Republic Act No. 11213) which is at a flat rate of six percent (6%) still in effect with a looming cut off of 31st of December 2020 although, the law mentions the official deadline is 21st of June 2021. In recent times, congress is pushing the extension of this law because with the ongoing pandemic but no updates yet about this report as this writing. With the country experiencing problems, the national government's budget is in deficit and needs to replenish it coffers with other sources of tax to sustain the economic life blood of the country brought about by world economic meltdown due to the COVID 19 pandemic.
As legitimate heirs, need help and assistance in settling the transfer of your loved ones' real estate properties to one's name? Give us a call at (045) 961-5936 or send us a message here in our contact us page.
About the Writer
CRB Benedict Baluyut is a professional real estate broker, real estate appraiser and associate of C. F. Baluyut Realty. He is currently the Vice President for External Affairs, Real Estate Brokers Association of the Philippines, Inc. (REBAP) - Pampanga Chapter. You can get in touch with him at https://www.cfbaluyutrealty.com.
Other articles to read:
What You Should Know About Estate Settlement https://bit.ly/33fWUzV
Why Should Avail Your Tax Amnesty For Your Real Estate Properties https://bit.ly/3n6ItWP
