The majority of people do not have estate plans in place, but a survey that was conducted by Caring.com found that most of the same folks know that estate planning is important. Why do they fail to take action? There are various reasons including the simple fact that many of them don’t know where to … [Read More]
Step-Up in Basis May Be Eliminated
The step-up in basis is related to the capital gains tax, and we will look at this tax and a potential change to it in this post. But before we do, we will provide a quick overview of the way taxes can impact postmortem asset transfers. State and Federal Income Taxes Since the tax man … [Read More]
Fend Off These Threats to Your Legacy
When you plan your estate, you should certainly be aware of the looming threats that can reduce the inheritances that you will be able to leave to your children. With this in mind, we will look at some of the sources of estate erosion in this post. Elder Financial Abuse As reprehensible as it is, … [Read More]
Living Trusts Provide Multiple Benefits
A lot of people think that trusts are only used by very wealthy families with estate tax concerns. In reality, this is not the case when it comes to the revocable living trust, and we will look at the benefits here. No Loss of Control The first thing that we want to establish is the … [Read More]
Use the Exclusion or Lose It
Currently, each person can give $11.58 million during life or at death. However, that amount will be cut in half by January 1, 2026. It may go down even sooner. Read on to learn why and how you should use it before you lose it. [Read More]
Will Your Estate Plan Still Work If You Move?
Before the pandemic, Americans were more mobile than ever. When you move, you have to change your address, your voter registration, and all sorts of other things. But, do you need to revise your estate planning documents? Like with many things in law, it depends on your situation. Read on to learn more. [Read More]
Planning for Incapacity
There is more to estate planning than disposing of your assets after your death. Planning for your incapacity is just as important. Read on to learn more about how incapacity planning can save you and your loved ones’ anxiety. [Read More]
Building Flexibility into Your Plan
There are all sorts of formalities to an estate plan. Does that mean you can’t change anything by yourself? Read on to learn how your estate plan, if done properly, can give you the flexibility to make changes by yourself as to certain assets. [Read More]
What Is a QTIP Trust?
A lot of folks assume that they have to accept certain estate planning limitations, because they do not understand all the tools that are in the toolkit. In reality, there is almost always going to be an ideal reaction to situations that appear to be complicated on the surface. With this in mind, let’s look … [Read More]
The Basics: Powers of Attorney for Healthcare
Powers of Attorney are part of even the simplest estate plan. A Power of Attorney allows your Agent to act for you. There are Powers of Attorney for financial matters and also those for health care. This article concerns the Healthcare Powers of Attorney and Advance Directives. [Read More]
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