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Tips to Ease the Burden on your Loved Ones after your Death
You can ease the burden on your surviving partner, or family members, by discussing key financial matters today. Here are steps to get your affairs in order: Gather financial papers. Store deeds, passports, insurance policies, estate documents and the latest...
Gifts and Inheritances are Taxed Differently
Question: I have a tax question that I hope you can help me with. My father passed last year. About six months before he passed, he gifted me a variety of stocks that he had held for years. In total, I received about $100,000 worth of stocks. When my father passed, I...
It’s Time to Rethink the Meaning of Estate Plans
The best plans consider what you want to do while you’re still here, and the legacy you want to leave behind A good estate plan, as you approach retirement, goes beyond deciding who gets what and how much after you die. It also should address your...
Aretha Franklin didn’t have a will, but you should
Aretha Franklin's legacy could include teaching consumers yet another word: W-I-L-L. Get one. Franklin — like Prince, Pablo Picasso, and others before her — reportedly died without a will or a trust. And there could be legal battles ahead in probate court for family...
JUGGLING ESTATE DECISIONS
With a stepfamily, try not to split heirs When you say “I do,” you’re entering a financial partnership as well as an emotional one. If you say “I do” a second time and have children, your partnership acquires new stakeholders — not necessarily willing ones. Adult...
20 Fun Facts about the 4th of July/Independence Day
On this federal holiday, also known as Independence Day, marking the Colonies’ adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, which declared independence from the Great Britain and its king, we thought it would be appropriate to share some fun facts...
Is Your Bypass Trust Still Right For You?
Under the estate tax rules in effect a few years ago, any unused exemption of the first spouse to die went out the window, and the surviving spouse was left with only his or her single exemption. Therefore, if the first spouse to die simply left everything to the...
Married Couples: Current Rules May Dictate Estate Changes
The American Taxpayer Relief Act made permanent changes to the federal estate and gift tax rules. Here are the basics: The federal estate tax exemption is $11.18 million for estates of individuals who die in 2018 (up from $5.49 in 2017). A 40% tax rate applies to the...
Trustee Duties of Care to the Trust Beneficiaries
If A = B and B = C, then A = C. This is the “transitive property of equality” that we learned in our remedial algebra classes so long ago. Is there a transitive property of fiduciary duties? We know that the trustee owes duties of care to the trust beneficiaries. We...
The Waters Case – a Textbook Example of the Headaches, Heartaches and Expense from Inadequate Estate Planning
Without specific estate instructions concerning distribution of tangible personal assets, such as household furnishings, jewelry, artwork, china and silver, tools, collections etc., family members can be left guessing what a deceased person would want – or decide to...