When you’re deciding to whom to leave assets, most people choose their children or other descendants. However, you also need to decide on the “contingent remainder” beneficiary. In other words, who should get your assets if all your other beneficiaries are gone. Read on to learn more about this often-confusing concept. [Read More]
Fair Isn’t Always Equal and Vice Versa
When you’re deciding how your assets should be divided at death, sometimes dividing them equally is the appropriate choice. But, sometimes it’s not. Fair isn’t always equal or vice versa. Read on to learn more, including how to avoid a challenge if you choose an unequal division among your children. [Read More]
Do I Report Living Trust Income When I File?
The revocable living trust is a very useful estate planning tool that is the ideal choice for a wide range of people. We are going to address a question that people often have about taxation in this post, but first, we will provide a general overview so you understand the benefits. Efficient Estate Administration If … [Read More]
Does Medicaid Count Assets in a Living Trust?
Before we get to the question that serves as the title this blog post, there are some people that don’t understand why they would ever have to worry about Medicaid coverage. We will provide a brief explanation to make that clear, and then we will move on to the subject at hand. Medicare and Long-Term … [Read More]
Do IRA Beneficiaries Pay Taxes on Distributions?
The two different types of individual retirement accounts that are widely utilized are the traditional IRA and the Roth individual retirement account. There are similarities between them, but there is one major difference, and we look at the details in this post. Traditional Account Rules You make contributions into a traditional account before you pay … [Read More]
What Is a Supplemental Needs Trust?
There are pointed approaches that can be taken to address every type of inheritance planning challenge. With this in mind, when you are planning your estate, you should consider the life situation of every person on your inheritance list. A perfectly acceptable way to transfer assets to one person may not be appropriate for the … [Read More]
An Overview of Living Trust Administration
The most commonly used type of trust is the revocable living trust, and we are going to focus on the administration of these trusts here. We will look at the administration of irrevocable trusts in a future post. The First Steps When you establish a living trust, you are called the grantor of the trust. … [Read More]
Medicaid Waiver Can Provide In-Home Care Solution
One inconvenient truth that you have to accept when you are looking ahead toward your elder years is the matter of living assistance. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, 70 percent of seniors will need help with their activities of daily living. Granted, some people can get by with limited … [Read More]
What Can You Do to Avoid Probate?
Probate is the legal process of estate administration. If you use a will to direct asset transfers after you are gone, it would be admitted to probate. The executor that you name in the document would take care of the hands-on tasks, and the court would provide supervision. It should be noted that there is … [Read More]
How Can I Reduce Estate Tax Exposure?
If your estate is very valuable, you have to be concerned about estate taxes. We are going to take a look at tax efficiency strategies, but first, we will explain the parameters so you know what you are up against. Federal Transfer Taxes The estate tax was repealed for 2010 due to provisions contained in … [Read More]
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