The period after a spouse passes away is an emotional time of mourning. However, there are a handful of estate planning adjustments that you should make to protect your estate under the new conditions....more
Hard-working Americans spend a lifetime trying to obtain financial stability and to then provide a financial legacy for their families. Often, the strategy to achieve such goals involves the funding of individual retirement...more
What is known as the IRS survivor’s penalty, and is there anything that can be done to provide for a surviving spouse as we age? The “survivor’s penalty” is the likelihood that a surviving spouse will face higher federal and...more
Under longstanding Pennsylvania law, retirement savings vehicles like individual retirement accounts (IRAs), 401(k) and 403(b) accounts, pensions, and employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) are generally exempt from creditor...more
Both workers and retirees may need to rethink some of their estate planning in light of the newest spending bill. The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, part of the massive bill, makes major...more
On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed into law the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act). The SECURE Act substantially changes the law applicable to IRAs and other retirement vehicles....more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (the SECURE Act) was signed into U.S. law on December 20, 2019. The SECURE Act makes significant changes to the administration of IRAs and other tax-deferred...more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (or SECURE Act), signed into law on December 20, 2019, changes retirement planning significantly and unexpectedly. The bulk of the changes become effective as of...more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (the SECURE Act) was enacted on December 20, 2019, as part of a major appropriations bill. The SECURE Act is intended to make it easier for a broad range of...more
The SECURE Act has significantly altered the estate planning landscape for qualified retirement accounts, including, but not limited to, Individual Retirement Accounts (“IRAs”), 401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457(b)s, and Roth IRAs...more
The federal appropriations bill enacted into law on December 20, 2019 changed federal law in ways that may affect your retirement assets, including 401(k) plans and IRAs. Those changes, often referred to as the “SECURE Act,”...more
On December 20, 2019, federal legislation approving spending limits for the 2020 fiscal year was signed into law. Included in the legislation is the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the...more
On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (the “Appropriations Act”) that includes the “Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019” (the “SECURE...more
On December 17, 2019, the US House of Representatives approved an appropriations bill, which includes the SECURE Act previously passed in the House. President Trump is expected to sign it once it reaches his desk. The...more
A recent decision out of a New Jersey Bankruptcy Court highlights a loophole in the Bankruptcy Code which may allow Chapter 7 debtors to keep significant assets out of the hands of trustees and creditors. In In re...more
In this issue: - The Sec. 1031 Exchange - A Powerful Estate Planning Tool - Worried About Challenges To Your Estate Plan? Make It No Contest! - Don't Underestimate The Impact Of State Estate Taxes ...more
Owners of large retirement accounts may be lulled into complacency concerning the asset protection available to these special assets. The funds which you (and perhaps also your employer through a matching program) have...more
An IRA can be a valuable estate planning tool, offering tax-deferred growth (tax-free in the case of a Roth IRA) and asset protection. But two recent developments create traps for the unwary: the “one-rollover-per-year” rule...more
The Beverly Hills Bar Association’s Bankruptcy Section recently held a program discussing the three recent bankruptcy-related Supreme Court decisions: Law v. Siegel (a case regarding surcharge, which was discussed on this...more
August Interest Rates for GRATs, Sales to Defective Grantor Trusts, Intra-Family Loans and Split Interest Charitable Trusts - The August § 7520 rate for use with estate planning techniques such as CRTs, CLTs, QPRTs and...more
Last Thursday, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Clark v. Rameker that funds held in inherited individual retirement accounts (IRAs) are not “retirement funds” for bankruptcy purposes....more