There are numerous acronyms that you will see tossed about when you look into the field of estate planning. One of these is the GRAT and in an estate planning context this stands for a grantor retained annuity trust. If you have appreciable securities, you may be able to “zero out” one of these trusts … [Read More]
Divorced Parents May Have Dual Objectives
It could be easy to imagine an estate planning scenario involving two people who have been married to one another all of their lives who have children together and perhaps some grandchildren. Of course these types of traditional families exist, but during our current era divorce is very common. As a result you have situations … [Read More]
Is Estate Planning Only Relevant To Seniors?
When you start to get up there in years and see some of your friends and family members pass away it is not difficult to recognize the immediate relevancy of estate planning. However, many people who are younger feel as though estate planning is not something that they have to worry about until they reach … [Read More]
Tax Free Gift Of Education
At the present time the estate tax exclusion is $5 million as a result of the passage of the tax relief act that was signed into law last December. However, it is important to remember that this change is not a permanent one. The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 … [Read More]
Social Security Information
Social Security benefits are part of the equation for a majority of people who are planning for retirement, and right now we are going through a historic period when it comes to Social Security. The baby boomer generation is reaching retirement age, and that means there are a lot of people applying for Social Security … [Read More]
Estate Planning & Blended Families
When you consider all the myriad details involved, estate planning can be rather complex and challenging. Depending on the size and scope of your assets and exactly what form they are in any number of financial instruments may be necessary to optimize your assets and prevent erosion. This is true even for people who married … [Read More]
Retirement Liquidity Challenges
Retirement planning is an endeavor that is inherently challenging because of the fact that you have to look so far into the future. Clearly, the earlier you get started the better, but the longer off retirement is the hazier the picture becomes. The keys are to be informed about all the elder law issues of … [Read More]
Medicaid: What Can Community Spouse Retain?
We have previously cited the rather alarming spike we are seeing in the prices of long-term care. To recap, there is a study that is done every year by the MetLife Mature Market Institute that places the cost of long-term care under the microscope. In 2010 the average cost for a yearlong stay in a … [Read More]
Removing Your Home’s Value From Your Estate
Due to provisions that are contained in the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 the estate tax exclusion is now $5 million. What this means is that your heirs will owe no estate tax at all if the value of your estate is $5 million or less. Any portion of … [Read More]
Reducing Estate Tax Liability
As a result of the tax relief measure that passed through the legislature at the end of last year we currently have an estate tax exclusion of $5 million and a maximum rate of 35%. What this means to you is that right now, the portion of your estate that exceeds the $5 million exclusion … [Read More]
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