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
Perhaps you drafted your will years ago and it references many of your existing assets, including retirement plan accounts and life insurance policies. But you also have paperwork on file with the applicable financial...more
5/3/2023
/ Beneficiaries ,
Beneficiary Designations ,
Divorce ,
Estate Planning ,
Life Insurance ,
Marriage ,
Power of Attorney ,
Retirement Plan ,
Spouses ,
Trusts ,
Wills
When you first dipped your toes into estate planning, you were probably told to start with a legally valid will, above everything else. Check. Next, you may have been advised to create an estate plan that incorporates your...more
Traditionally, an estate plan addresses the tangible assets you own, such as cash and securities, investment real estate, vehicles, and your house. But this is 2022. Increasingly, people are living in a digital world, where...more
No one would expect you to operate a business without developing a business plan. Typically, you would review the plan annually and modify it to accommodate your needs. Yet many people don’t follow similar practices for...more
Are you planning to move to a different state? It may be due to a change in jobs, a desire for a better climate, an opportunity to downsize or to be closer to your kids. In any event, you’ll have to cope with some hassles,...more
If you’re a small business owner, you probably don’t have a minute to spare in your busy workday, especially if you’re struggling to recover after a turbulent 2020. Estate planning may be one of the last things on your mind. ...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
You’ve probably spent a lot of time creating documents for your estate plan, including a will, trusts and a power of attorney. While these documents are essential for your plan, your family could also use a “road map” to...more
The digital revolution has touched virtually every aspect of our lives. The result is that one likely has at least a handful of “digital assets.” These assets may include personal assets, such as online bank and brokerage...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
An estate planning rule of thumb is to review (and, if necessary, revise) one’s estate plan in light of major life events. Such events include a marriage, birth of a child and a divorce. A second marriage also calls for an...more
4/4/2019
/ Advanced Care Directives ,
Beneficiaries ,
Beneficiary Designations ,
Divorce ,
Estate Planning ,
Life Insurance ,
Marriage ,
Power of Attorney ,
Prenuptial Agreements ,
Prior Wills ,
Retirement Plan ,
Spouses ,
Surviving Spouse ,
Trusts ,
Wills
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
A power of attorney (POA) is an important component of an estate plan because it provides details for making critical financial and medical decisions if a person becomes incapacitated. This article defines a POA and explains...more
Gift giving made easy -
Annual exclusion reduces your taxable estate -
How can you reduce the size of your taxable estate? There are many ways to accomplish this objective, including the use of irrevocable trusts...more
10/3/2016
/ Beneficiaries ,
Estate Planning ,
Estate Tax ,
Gift Tax ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Penalties ,
Pets ,
Power of Attorney ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Trusts
In addition to essentials such as clothing, toiletries, bedding and a laptop, students heading off to college in the fall also should “pack” all the necessary financial and medical documents. This brief article details...more
Typically, an estate plan includes accommodations for one’s spouse, children, grandchildren and even future generations. But some members of the family can be overlooked, such as parents or in-laws. This article offers a...more
In This Issue:
- Premarital planning: Protecting your assets without a prenup
- The ABLE account: A good alternative to a special needs trust?
- Make net gifts to reduce your gift tax rate
- Estate Planning...more
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
A financial power of attorney — sometimes called a “power of attorney for property” or a “general power of attorney” — can be a valuable planning tool. But it’s susceptible to abuse by scam artists, dishonest caretakers or...more