Robert, the older brother, and Lon, the younger one, were close as they were growing up in the Queens borough of New York City. However, when their mother passed away and left the bulk of her estate to Robert, Lon was devastated.
Doing some ‘upstream’ planning now will take the guesswork out of what’s coming your way.
There’s almost always a reckoning when the government proffers a tax break. So it is with individual retirement accounts (IRA)s, 401(k)s and similar accounts that investors fund with pre-tax earnings.
When preparing estate planning documents, certain beneficiaries may need more protection than others. One particular class of beneficiaries that needs to be intentionally considered is minor children.
When you own or operate a business, ensuring that this plan accounts for the future of the business is critical.
A trust is an estate planning tool that you may consider using if you want to go beyond drafting a last will and testament.
Chances are, your home is full to the brim with cherished memories of family and friends. But, as you get older, you may start wondering what exactly will happen to your home when you pass away. Fortunately, a life estate can take away the uncertainty of this thought by legally assigning an heir to receive your property without interference from court proceedings.
A pot trust, also referred to as a discretionary, sprinkling or common pot trust, is a type of trust that can be used by families to pass on assets. With this type of trust, minor children serve as beneficiaries with a trustee that oversees the management of trust assets. The trustee has discretionary power to decide how the trust funds are used to pay for the care and needs of beneficiaries.
The important thing to acknowledge is that the emotions behind the reasons are not trivial, but are important and should not be dismissed or minimized.
When someone dies with money left in an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), the funds can get passed on to the person’s loved ones through an inherited IRA.
