Our blog includes posts about a wide range of estate planning topics, including trust-based estate plans, estate planning when you have a disabled adult child, planning as part of a blended family, and planning for charitable giving. To learn more, contact our office to discuss how we can help you create an estate plan that best fits your needs.
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Estate Planning Tips for Blended FamiliesBlended families are continuously becoming more common in the United States. This creates special considerations that must be taken into account during estate planning because not planning properly for blended families is a good way to ensure that there will be family feuds over an estate. One of the more...
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11 Potential Mistakes to Avoid in Estate PlanningSometimes people attempt to make an estate plan without consulting legal and financial professionals. Mostly this is because they may have a general understanding of estate planning and believe they can do it themselves without paying for professional services. This may be valid to a point, but it often fails...
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Estate Planning to Minimize Federal Income TaxesThe traditional estate planning approach, aimed at reducing estate tax values, is less relevant for the vast majority of individuals today than it was in the past. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) provides relatively generous estate tax rates, limits and rules for estates. Older estate plans should...
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Special Needs Trust Fairness Act Reintroduced in the HouseReps. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ) reintroduced the Special Needs Trust Fairness Act (H.R. 670) today to allow individuals with disabilities, who have the mental capacity, to create their own special needs trusts. NAELA, the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys, expects reintroduction in the Senate shortly....
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Succession Planning for Retirement Accounts/IRA Inheritance Trust WebinarSuccession Planning for Retirement Accounts typically involves two (2) goals or concerns. First, deferral of income tax. The key is for the retirement account to remain income tax deferred for the longest period of time. This is accomplished when your children or other beneficiaries are able to keep the retirement...
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Laureate Wealth Strategies ProgramThis past year, I have been participating in the Laureate Wealth Strategies Program through the Southern California Institute. This program includes some of the very best attorneys, certified public accountants (CPAs) and insurance professionals in the country. The alumni from this program focus on achieving the clients enlightened dreams in...
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Inherited Debt That Will Not Go AwayMost of the time family members and other heirs are not responsible for a deceased person's debts. Any debts are paid out of the estate before it is distributed to the heirs. However, there are some exceptions including one that cannot be discharged in bankruptcy, co-signed private student loans. A...
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Don't Discount the Importance of Keeping Your Estate Plan Up-To-Date!There is a sense of accomplishment when an estate plan is executed. In fact, it’s quite common for people to sign documents and file them away for safe keeping and forget about them. The danger is that these individuals and families may believe that these matters require no further attention....
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Recently Divorced: Where Do I Start?You may have juggled a zillion family responsibilities both in and out of the house. But chances are you didn't handle everything. Perhaps your husband handled the investments. Or dealt with advisers, such as a CPA or a lawyer. But now, after a divorce or the death of your husband,...
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How to Motivate Your Kids to Be More Productive and Self-ReliantRecently rock legend Sting made headlines when he declared that his six children would be receiving little to none of his estimated $300 million fortune. He joked that he intended to spend all of his money before he died. But on a more serious note, he explained that he wanted...
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US Supreme Court Says IRAs Fair Game for DebtsThe U.S. Supreme Court ruled that certain money inherited from individual retirement accounts can be taken by creditors to cover the debts of people in bankruptcy proceedings. In a unanimous ruling written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the court said inherited IRA money not received from a spouse isn't protected in...
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Planning for Digital AssetsLegislation addressing estate planning in the digital realm is headed for the Delaware General Assembly. A new bill from Rep. Darryl Scott (D-Dover) would require companies like Google to hand over control of users accounts to a trusted person outlined in their will. Companies would be required to give estate...