Articles Posted in Estate Planning

We’ve mentioned it before but many people delay estate planning because they don’t want to talk about death, their own specifically. But it has to be done. By not discussing it you can leave much uneeded stress for those you leave behind. Getting your estate plans in order doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are…

The IRS and Treasury Department have joined forces to issue regulation regarding non-grantor trusts which have been used by wealthy people to avoid the property tax deduction cap in the new tax reform law. In Notice 2018-61, the IRS and Treasury say they plan to release regulations to provide clarification on the effect of section…

So, you did everything you were supposed to; set up trusts and did all the rest. There was just one small mistake. You forgot to tell anyone where your will and all those other documents are. If you don’t let anyone know where your will is, it will be as if it doesn’t exist and…

The National Consumer Law Center recently released Avoiding Living Trust Scams:A Quick Guide for Advocates. In it they warn, Dishonest living trust salespeople prey on seniors’ fears that after their deaths, their life savings and assets will be stolen by the government or by predatory probate attorneys. These salespeople use high-pressure tactics and deceptive claims…

Even if you think you have your estate issues all planned out, quite often there are things you might have accidentally left out. We came up with five common mistakes that many people make, even the most conscientious planners can make. Beneficiaries So, ten tears ago you added your first born son as a beneficiary…

You’ve seen the commercials with Robert Wagner extolling the wonders of a reverse mortgage. Is he trying to sell you a bill of goods? Is a reverse mortgage worth it? That depends. What Exactly Is a Reverse Mortgage? Reverse mortgages are available to homeowners who are 62 and older. To be eligible, you must live…

Many people think estate planning means drawing up a will an the rest will take care of itself. That’s a common error people make. Here are a few others. Procrastination Surveys have found that not only do 50% of people with children not have a will, many don’t have any other estate planning documents drawn…

Estate planning is necessary, but many people find the prospect intimidating. Quoted by laduenews.com, Meredith Murphy, an attorney with Smith Amundsen’s Estate and Business Planning Practice Group in Missouri said, “Estate planning allows an individual to manage and direct where assets are to be distributed upon their death, but [it] also lets an individual plan…

Under Medicaid laws, if you transfer certain assets five years before you apply for Medicaid, Your access to Medicaid can be delayed, the length of the delay depending on the amount of the transfer. While federal tax laws allow you to transfer up to $14,000 a year without having to pay a gift tax, Medicaid…

Last year Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 which pretty much killed the aptly named death tax. It didn’t actually kill it just exempted those who leave less than $11 million to their heirs. Since the idea of no leaving a federal tax burden to their heirs, many people are questioning…