Our regularly updated blog discusses a variety of issues related to business, tax, and estate planning in California. Learn why an estate plan is necessary regardless of age or income, what steps you can take to reduce your tax liability and protect your assets, how to ensure your business remains on a solid legal foundation, and much more.
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Who Will Take the Helm If You Aren't Able to Guide the Ship?Planning ahead in life seems to be difficult at times. But, when it comes to planning for major life and death decisions, it is important to do it now and ask for help from a professional. For many business owners, especially sole proprietors and owners of small businesses, keeping the...
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That's it ...You're Out of the Will!For testators who have been actively involved in the dynamics of their own family for decades, disinheritance might be an easy decision. For estate planners, however, disinheritance is a difficult issue to deal with that must be addressed adequately or can leave an estate plan open to challenge after the...
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Get Your Head Out of the Sand!When Rocket Lawyer asked why so many people do not have wills, here’s what they said: 57% said they “just haven’t gotten around to making one” 22% felt that making a will wasn’t urgent 17% didn’t think they needed a will 14% don’t have a will because they don’t want...
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And Baby Makes ... What? An Insurance AdditionAs you pick out the crib, stroller and tiny clothes, don't forget about health insurance for Junior. Make sure you sign up your infant for coverage within 30 days of birth. A federal rule requires insurance providers to cover children signed up within 30 days of birth retroactively to day...
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What Is One of the Most Common Mistakes in Estate Planning?You may have made a giant estate planning mistake without even knowing it — forgetting to update the names of your beneficiaries for your employer-sponsored retirement plans, IRAs, life insurance policies, mutual funds, bank accounts, brokerage accounts, annuities, and 529 college savings plans. The article titled "Don’t make the No....
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It's That Time of Year ... Graduation!Prepaid college tuition plans are no longer the surefire solution to runaway tuition costs they once seemed. The mostly state-sponsored plans were designed as a way to save for college by locking in at least a portion of future tuition at today's prices. Spring time means graduation. Graduation may mean...
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Come on, Estate Planning Has to Hurt a Little?Nobody wants to contemplate his or her own mortality. And you may even feel that, in the context of death, questions about who gets which of your assets seem trivial. That might explain why numerous recent studies have found that only between 35% and 45% of Americans have a will...
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Are You Planning to Live to Be 100?A new academic study suggests taking life expectancy into account when estate planning. In the paper, three economists from the Center for Retirement Research (CRR) at Boston College found that folks who expect to live longer plan, on average, to work longer too. And if a health shock or the...
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Mom Liked Me Best!“The more that there is an economic gulf between siblings, the less they see each other and talk,” says Dalton Conley, professor at New York University and author of “The Pecking Order: Which Siblings Succeed and Why.” The reason, he says, is that from the perspective of the less wealthy...
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Did You Make Your Fortune the "Old-Fashioned Way?"One of the greatest tricks up the proverbial sleeves of rich families wanting to preserve generational wealth is their ability to pass along their assets to their heirs in perpetuity. They’re able to do this free from the grip of creditors, the IRS, state and local tax authorities, litigators, ex-spouses,...
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Should We Discuss Rocks, Flossing, or the Alternative Minimum Tax?Congress passed the alternative minimum tax (AMT) some 45 years ago because some wealthy families were legally using so many deductions and tax breaks that they were paying no federal income taxes at all. Talking about the AMT gets about the same response as discussing igneous rocks and teeth flossing—not...
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Affordable Retirement LocalesTry to purchase a home in New York City with a budget of $140,000 and the options are pretty limited–a 375-square-foot apartment in Queens may be the most luxurious possibility. In Los Angeles, buyers may have to look exclusively at inland foreclosures. But in Knoxville, Tennessee, $140,000 buys a 1,750-square-foot,...