Decanting: How to Fix a Trust That Isn’t Getting Better With Age While many wines get better with age, the same cannot be said for some irrevocable trusts. Maybe you’re the beneficiary of a trust created by your great grandfather seventy years ago that no longer makes sense. Or maybe you created an irrevocable trust […]
Read More »Financial Firms Roll Out Form Aimed at Stopping Financial Elder Abuse
Financial Firms Roll Out Form Aimed at Stopping Financial Elder Abuse With cases of financial exploitation of the elderly on the rise, advisors who work with older clients are looking for ways to head off the abuse before it happens. Enter the “Emergency Contact Authorization Form,” a document in which clients can list a trusted […]
Read More »What You Need to Know About the Final Estate Tax Portability Rules
What You Need to Know About the Final Estate Tax Portability Rules Recently the IRS issued the final rules governing the “portability election” as it relates to the federal estate tax exemption. Married couples need to understand how these final rules may affect their existing estate plans, while recent widows and widowers need to understand […]
Read More »How Will the 2015 Supreme Court Decisions Affect You and Your Family?
How Will the 2015 Supreme Court Decisions Affect You and Your Family? While approximately 10,000 cases are appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court each year, only 75 to 80 make it to oral argument. Of those cases, only a handful grab the media’s attention. Below is a summary of three landmark decisions handed down in […]
Read More »IRS Announcement: Estate Tax Closing Letters Will Now Only Be Issued Upon Request
IRS Announcement: Estate Tax Closing Letters Will Now Only Be Issued Upon Request Due to the increased volume of federal estate tax return filings in order to make the “portability election,” the IRS has announced that estate tax closing letters will only be issued upon request by the taxpayer. This change in IRS policy started […]
Read More »Dispelling the Top 3 Estate Planning Myths
Dispelling the Top 3 Estate Planning Myths Like any other complex subject, estate planning has its share of myths and misconceptions. Understanding the top three estate planning myths will help you to create and maintain a plan that will work the way you expect it to work when it’s needed. Estate Planning Myth #1 – […]
Read More »Estate Planning for Same-Sex Couples after Obergefell v. Hodges
Estate Planning for Same-Sex Couples after Obergefell v. Hodges On June 26, 2015 the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges, the name assigned to a series of consolidated cases on same-sex marriage rights. The Court ruled 5-4 in favor of the petitioners, holding that same-sex married couples are entitled to […]
Read More »Federal Estate Tax Update
Federal Estate Tax Update Death taxes are back in the news at the federal level. What Happened to the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015? Back in February and March of 2015, identical bills calling for repeal of the federal estate tax and generation-skipping transfer tax were introduced in the U.S. House and Senate. In […]
Read More »Caution: Is Your Asset Protection Plan Set Up to Fail?
Caution: Is Your Asset Protection Plan Set Up to Fail? You may be surprised to learn that not only has asset protection planning been around for a long time, but you have already engaged in it at some point during your life. In fact, you probably have one or more types of traditional asset protection […]
Read More »Where is the Best Place to Store Your Original Estate Planning Documents?
Where is the Best Place to Store Your Original Estate Planning Documents? Estate planning attorneys are often asked where original estate planning documents – wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives – should be stored for safekeeping. While there is no right or wrong answer to this question, consider the following:
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