Understanding What Legacy Planning Means
To ensure a lasting legacy, you need to get your documents in order and have a clear plan for how your wealth will transfer, avoiding taxes and inheritor pitfalls along the way.
December 1, 2020
Failing To Put Assets Into Trusts
Your real estate holdings, life insurance, bank accounts and retirement savings won’t magically flow into your trust.
November 23, 2020
The Responsibilities of a Trustee
A trustee is a manager of assets in a trust. The grantor creates the trust and appoints the trustee. A trustee has a ‘fiduciary duty’ to serve the grantor and not benefit personally.
November 19, 2020
Federal Estate Tax Exemption is set to Sunset
Maybe not tomorrow, but the sunset of our historically high estate tax exemptions is coming—and with the election on its way, it could be sooner than you think.
November 12, 2020
Distribution of Personal Property in Your Estate
Personal property is a unique category of asset. Even in the simplest after-death distribution, personal property can become a hindrance to final distribution. There are a couple of reasons why.
November 9, 2020
Two different types of Durable Power of Attorney
When do you need your estate plan to ‘go to work’ for you? While you may think the right answer is ‘after I die,’ the actual answer is ‘if I lose the ability to manage my own affairs.’
November 4, 2020
How Important Is Avoiding Probate?
Probate is a process to transfer the assets after someone dies. For example, when a homeowner passes, probate allows for the home to be sold or transferred, if necessary, even though the owner is no longer alive to sign a deed.
October 27, 2020
How Do I Keep Money in the Family?
If you’re single and die in 2020, you can have up to $11.58 million in assets before your heirs have to worry about paying a penny in estate taxes.
October 26, 2020
Digital Assets Need To Be Included
It’s difficult to go a few hours without interacting with a digital account. Whether that is email, online banking or social media, many daily tasks involve digital informational storage.
October 20, 2020
Make the Most of Exemptions in Gifting
Federal estate, gift and GST tax exemptions are currently at historic highs ($11.58 million per individual in 2020). These higher exemptions are scheduled to return to $5 million, adjusted for inflation, after December 31, 2025, but they could be reduced before then, as a result of political or policy changes.
October 15, 2020