Funding long-term care expenses: What are your options?
Few things can derail your estate plan as quickly as unanticipated long-term care (LTC) expenses. Most people will need some form of LTC — such as a nursing home or...more
2/23/2023
/ Asset Management ,
Beneficiaries ,
Estate Planning ,
Family Members ,
Financial Planning ,
Inheritance ,
Long Term Care Insurance ,
Long-Term Care ,
Trusts ,
Wealth Management ,
Wills
Pay attention to securities laws when planning your estate -
Do your assets include unregistered securities, such as restricted stock or interests in hedge funds or private equity funds? If so, it’s important to consider...more
12/28/2022
/ 401k ,
Asset Management ,
Beneficiaries ,
Disabled Children ,
Document Management ,
Estate Planning ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Inheritance ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities ,
Successors ,
Trustees
Rising rates spark interest in charitable remainder trusts -
If you wish to leave a charitable legacy while generating income during your lifetime, a charitable remainder trust (CRT) may be a viable solution. In addition...more
10/25/2022
/ Asset Management ,
Estate Claims ,
Estate Planning ,
Estate Tax ,
Inheritance ,
IRS ,
Life Insurance ,
Retirement Funds ,
Tax Planning ,
Trustees ,
Trusts ,
Wealth Management
Estate planning for the happily married - Hedge your bets with a SLAT
One of the biggest challenges of estate planning is dealing with uncertainty. For 2022, for example, the federal gift and estate tax exemption is $12.06...more
Asset protection -
How to shield your wealth from lawsuits and creditors -
Much of estate planning focuses on transferring your wealth to loved ones in a taxefficient manner. But for many people, it’s equally important...more
You’ve received an inheritance: Now what?
If you’ve received, or will soon receive, a significant inheritance, it may be tempting to view it as “found money” that can be spent freely. But unless your current financial plan...more
5/23/2022
/ Asset Management ,
Beneficiaries ,
Estate Claims ,
Estate Planning ,
Family Members ,
Fiduciary ,
Inheritance ,
Successors ,
Trustees ,
Trusts ,
Wills
GST taxes -
Plan carefully to avoid surprises -
If you wish to share some of your wealth with your grandchildren or great grandchildren — or if your estate plan is likely to benefit these generations — it’s critical to...more
Business owners: Now’s the time to revisit buy-sell agreements -
If you own an interest in a closely held business, a buy-sell agreement should be a critical component of your estate and succession plans. These...more
Getting remarried?
Understand your spouse’s inheritance rights -
If you’re getting remarried, you may have very different expectations than you did when you married the first time, especially when it comes to estate...more
Big tax changes are in the works -
What do they mean for your estate plan?
With apologies to Benjamin Franklin, little is certain about death and taxes these days. The Biden administration and several lawmakers have...more
Annual exclusion gifts -
A deceptively powerful estate planning strategy -
In 2021, the federal lifetime gift and estate tax exemption amount is a whopping $11.7 million. So, for most people, it may seem like planning...more
Charitable giving in 2021 -
Plan carefully to maximize the tax benefits -
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, lawmakers enacted the CARES Act to provide some relief to the ailing economy. One of its provisions,...more
Below is a brief glance of what you'll find in the March/April 2021 issue of The Estate Planner.
- Can beneficiaries borrow from a trust?
- Taking steps to protect your will from being contested
- Defined-value...more
Below is a brief glance of what you'll find in the January/February 2021 issue of The Estate Planner.
- Can a charitable trust replicate a stretch IRA?
- Power up your trust with Crummey powers
- Net gift technique...more
A SPA trust can improve the flexibility of your estate plan -
We live in uncertain times. There’s uncertainty about the economy as well as the possibility of tax increases to address the rising federal debt. For example,...more
As we continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and much of the economy reopens, the “new normal” demands continued social distancing in many areas of life. What does this mean for estate planning? Clearly, estate...more
Don’t overlook foreign assets when planning your estate -
You’d be surprised how often people fail to disclose foreign assets to their estate planning advisors. They assume that these assets aren’t relevant to their “U.S.”...more
6/2/2020
/ Asset Management ,
Beneficiary Designations ,
Charitable Deductions ,
Charitable Donations ,
Estate Planning ,
Estate Tax ,
Federal Taxes ,
Generation-Skipping Transfer ,
Gift Tax ,
Income Taxes ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Tax Planning ,
Trusts
The SECURE Act -
What it means for your retirement and estate plans -
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act is one of the most significant pieces of retirement plan legislation in...more
Creating an education legacy -
For many people, an important goal of estate planning is to leave a legacy for their children, grandchildren and future generations. And what better way to do that than to help provide for...more
Now or later -
When’s the right time to transfer your wealth? -
To gift or not to gift? It’s a deceptively complex question. The temporary doubling of the gift and estate tax exemption — to an inflation-adjusted...more
12/19/2019
/ Asset Management ,
Beneficiary Designations ,
Charitable Deductions ,
Charitable Donations ,
Estate Planning ,
Estate Tax ,
Federal Taxes ,
Generation-Skipping Transfer ,
Gift Tax ,
Income Taxes ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Tax Planning ,
Trusts
What’s a clawback ? and should you be worried about it?
By temporarily doubling the gift and estate tax exemption amount, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created an historic opportunity for affluent families to shelter wealth...more
10/4/2019
/ Art Collections ,
Clawbacks ,
Disabled Children ,
Elder Care ,
Elder Issues ,
Estate Planning ,
Estate Tax ,
Estate-Tax Exemption ,
Fine Art ,
Gift Tax ,
Gift-Tax Exemption ,
IRS ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Planning
Is silence golden?
The good and the bad of keeping your trust a secret -
It’s common for parents to set aside money or other assets in trust for their children or grandchildren. At the same time, many parents agonize...more
8/13/2019
/ Asset Management ,
Beneficiaries ,
Capital Gains ,
Elder Care ,
Elder Issues ,
Estate Planning ,
Estate Tax ,
Inheritance ,
Qualified Opportunity Funds ,
Trust Administration ,
Trusts
Below is a brief glance of what you'll find in the July/August 2019 issue of The Estate Planner.
SLATs offer an estate planning safety net -
Can multiple trusts be used to maximize the pass-through deduction? -...more
Shumaker is pleased to present the May/June 2019 issue of The Estate Planner.
In it we discuss:
- How can you mend a broken trust? Try decanting
- Now may be the time to forgive intrafamily loans
-...more
In this issue:
- Valuing LLC Interests: How To Lose In Tax Court
- Should You Keep Your Trust A Secret?
- Effort – A “Stretch IRA” Can Maximize Your IRA’s Benefits
- Estate Planning Red Flag – You...more
5/9/2014
/ Asset Valuations ,
Estate Planning ,
Estate Tax ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Jointly-Owned Property ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Tax Court ,
Transfer of Title ,
Trusts ,
Valuation