When it comes to estate planning, consider taking a page out of the Boy Scouts Handbook: Be prepared. The last thing you want is for your family to be scrambling to pick up the pieces after your death. Of course, you’ll need...more
12/19/2023
/ Advance Health Care Directive ,
Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) ,
Estate Planning ,
Estate Tax ,
Estate-Tax Exemption ,
Executors ,
Financial Power of Attorney ,
Gift Tax ,
Gift-Tax Exemption ,
Living Will ,
Power of Attorney
Health care and financial powers of attorney are critical components of an effective estate plan. Indeed, while much of your estate plan focuses on actions that take place after your death, it’s equally important to have a...more
At the very least, your estate plan should include a legally valid will governing the disposition of assets upon your death. But comprehensive estate planning often goes much further....more
Estate planning experts usually cite the need to include advance health care directives in a comprehensive estate plan. But there’s often disagreement about the legal names given to those directives and their optimal use,...more
No one likes to think about being incapacitated, but the threat is real. This raises some troubling thoughts about how one’s personal and financial affairs will be handled in the event they’re incapacitated. This article...more
A person’s will is the centerpiece of his or her estate plan. Typically, it’s the most important document used in estate planning and is created before any other. A document that complements a will is a letter of instruction....more
As of this writing, it’s still anybody’s guess as to whether Congress will enact major tax reform legislation affecting federal gift and estate taxes. This situation casts a large shadow over estate planning at the end of...more
12/6/2017
/ Beneficiaries ,
End-of-Life-Care ,
Estate Planning ,
Estate Tax ,
Gift Tax ,
Living Will ,
Power of Attorney ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
Trusts ,
Wills ,
Year-End Planning
The best-laid plans can go astray. For estate planning purposes, the main complication as a person grows older may be the condition of his or her health. This brief article details two health care directives and explains why...more
If a person is pulled between the pressing needs of elderly parents and his or her own children, he or she is part of the “sandwich generation.” This position can lead to frustration, anguish and even financial loss. This...more
The sandwich generation: A slice of life -
Do you feel like you’re pulled between the pressing needs of your elderly parents and your own children? If so, you’re part of the “sandwich generation,” the term coined to...more
6/3/2017
/ Advance Health Care Directive ,
Charitable Rollover ,
Elder Care ,
Estate Planning ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Living Trust ,
Living Will ,
Power of Attorney ,
Qualified Charitable Distributions ,
Revocable Trusts ,
Undue Influence Claims ,
Wills
Most estate plans focus on what happens after death — but a plan is incomplete if arrangements haven’t been made in the event of mental incapacity. If the plan doesn’t specify how these decisions will be made, and by whom, a...more