Phase I - Unification
AAHA's vision is to educate landowners and empower them to create generational wealth. AAHA encourages the initiation of creating self-directed reparations by landowners taking the responsibility of uniting their families and heirs to prevent the loss of their ancestral land.
Getting Started: Landowners' Responsibility
STEP 1
STEP 2
Family agreement is the key to resolving heir property issues. It's important that families settle any of their internal disputes. and speak with a united voice.
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Identify an internal champion who will take on a leadership role and facilitate the initial process
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Check the title status of your heir property
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Commit to identifying all of the heirs attached to your family's land - All heirs with interest in the property must be accounted for and notified of upcoming decisions.
RESOURCE: Ancestry.com - Create a free account and begin researching your family tree to determine family ownership.
A great percentage of landowners have already sold their timber or are willing to negotiate the sale of their timber as well as provide hunting opportunities. AAHA assists with forestry management services.
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Identify an internal champion who will take on a leadership role and facilitate the initial process
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Check the title status of your heir property
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Commit to identifying all of the heirs attached to your family's land - All heirs with interest in the property must be accounted for and notified of upcoming decisions.
The timber market is highly complex. Too often landowners are approached by timber buyers with offers that are below what the market will bear. And, without knowing, the landowner doesn’t maximize his/her timber value! This is where African American Heir Association can help.
You can determine what happens to your land and who inherits your land. If you do not decide then the state will decide for you. Creating an Estate Plan is critical to preserving generational wealth for your family. This means that each individual owner within the heir property needs to have a will. Each will will then go into a Trust. AAHA will assist in this process.
Estate Planning Checklist
1. Last Will and Testament
The core of any estate plan is the last will and testament, which details where the testator (the person writing the will) would like his property to go after his death. In a will, the testator names an executor to carry out the distribution of the estate.
2. Living Will
A living will provides instructions to be followed for medical care if you become incapable of expressing your wishes yourself. Common issues addressed in living wills include the use of feeding and breathing tubes, and other end-of-life care decisions.
3. Powers of Attorney
A power of attorney or POA is a document that gives someone the authority to make decisions on your behalf. You may choose to have different people act on your behalf for financial matters and for health care, or you can name one person to handle everything.
4. Life Insurance and Bank/Retirement Accounts
You should strongly consider having a life insurance policy, especially if you have minor children, own a home, or anticipate your estate's being responsible for a large amount of debt and/or estate taxes.
5. Living Trust
A living trust allows you to put assets into a trust for your benefit during your lifetime, which are then transferred to designated beneficiaries at your death by the “successor trustee," the person in charge of facilitating the distribution of assets, also chosen by you.
6. Estate Taxes
Only a small percentage of estates are subject to federal estate tax—estates valued below $5.49 million are exempt as of 2017—but there may also be state death and/or inheritance taxes for you to consider.
7. Digital Assets
From your online banking to your social media accounts, it's important to gather all your logins and passwords in a convenient location so that someone you trust will be able to access your digital assets after you cannot.
You can also leave specific instructions on what you want done with each account. In Facebook settings, for example, you can designate a "legacy contact" to have access to your account after your death.
8. Other End-of-Life Arrangements
You may choose to provide instructions for your funeral, as well as covering related expenses, in your end-of-life documents.
9. Safe Storage
Once all of your estate planning documents are prepared, put them in a safe place and tell your executor and/or the person you named in your power of attorney where to find them.
10. Updates
You're not done yet! An estate plan is living and breathing just as long as you are, which means you should revisit the documents to make sure everything is still correct and in accordance with your wishes.
RESOURCE: D0-It-Yourself (DIY) Estate Planning Options
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Trust and Will - www.trustandwill.com
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Will Maker - wwww.willmaker.com
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Law Depot - www.lawdepot.com
Guided resource: Legacy Shield - www.legacyshield.com
DID
YOU
KNOW?
AAHA proviDES TIMBER EDUCATION AND SERVICE REFERRALS TO ASSIST LANDOWNERSWITH THE STEPS TO ACHEIVING UPWARD ECONOMIC MOBILITY
STEP 3