Many people that reside in our area have been very successful financially, and we have developed numerous relationships with high net worth families over the years. We continue to build on them, and it is gratifying to help successful people preserve their legacies for the benefit of their loved ones.One of the most important things to take into consideration when you are engaged in the estate planning process is the potential for taxation. Though there are state-level estate taxes in some … [Read more...]
How Do You Choose a Trustee?
When you find out all the facts about last wills, you will probably be interested in alternatives. What’s wrong with a will as an asset transfer vehicle? The short answer is that that a will must be admitted to probate, which is a costly, time-consuming legal process. You can also add in a number of other drawbacks that we will cover in a future post.A revocable living trust would be a better choice for most people. If you are concerned about losing control of assets that you convey into a … [Read more...]
Kiddie Tax is Worse Than Ever
The Kiddie Tax can apply to the unearned income of children. Read on to learn if this tax applies to you or your children. Also, learn ways to avoid the Kiddie Tax.Kiddie Tax is Worse Than Ever … [Read more...]
An Alphabet Soup of Irrevocable Trusts
There are certain trusts that can be looked at as asset protection trusts for people that are exposed to the estate tax. These would be irrevocable trust, but there are other trusts that fit into this category that can be useful for other purposes. Since the names of these devices are wordy, they are often reduced to acronyms, and we will provide some decoding in this blog post. Supplemental Needs Trusts (SNT) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) One of these irrevocable trusts that is not … [Read more...]
Making Trusts More Flexible
Trusts can be drafted to be quite flexible. This article examines several ways you can add flexibility to your trust. This added flexibility will increase the usefulness of your trust.Making Trusts More Flexible … [Read more...]
When and Where You Die Matters
Where you die matters. While you’ll pay the same federal estate tax no matter where you die, 1/3 of the states have a separate estate or inheritance tax. The most populous state, California, is the latest state to consider adding a state estate tax. Read on to learn more.When and Where You Die Matters … [Read more...]
Trust Protectors Add Flexibility
Trusts can be drafted to be quite flexible. This article examines how Trust Protectors can add flexibility to your trust. This added flexibility can increase the usefulness of your trust.Trust Protectors Add Flexibility … [Read more...]
Make Wise Estate Planning Choices
As estate planning attorneys, we sometimes hear from a client that wants us to provide damage control. The individual does not know where to turn, because their last surviving parent passed away without any estate planning documents in place. There are things that we can do in many cases to mitigate the damage, but this is a tough situation that could have been avoided.They say that the only two certainties of life are death and taxes. With this in mind, everyone is prepared to file their … [Read more...]
Modifying an Irrevocable Trust
Irrevocable trusts often can be modified. They can be modified under the Uniform Trust Code or a state law decanting. Read on to learn more about how a modification of a trust can help.Modifying an Irrevocable Trust … [Read more...]
Legacy Planning: See the Big Picture
There is a more complete form of estate planning called legacy planning that you may want to consider. Your legacy plan could contain some financial elements, but you can also include some things that money cannot buy that are very valuable as well. Let’s look at some of the components that could be included in your legacy plan. Wealth Preservation We are going to primarily focus on possibilities that have nothing to do with money, but we should discuss the value of wealth preservation for … [Read more...]
