by Christine | Jun 9, 2014 | Charitable Giving, Estate Planning, Wealth Transfer |
"We say to people: 'If you do nothing, your money will go to the state. Is that what you want?' That's enough to make them want to consider something else," says Andrew Russell, a certified financial planner in San Diego. If you have no spouse or...
by Christine | Jun 6, 2014 | Asset Protection, Marriage |
So how do DAPTs work in a marriage to protect assets? Do they need to be set up before the marriage? Can they be set up during the marriage? Marriage might be that last step in bringing two people and two lives together. Nevertheless, that moment often causes one to...
by Christine | Jun 5, 2014 | Advanced Health Care Directive, Elder Law, Living Will |
[Dr. V.J. Periyakoil] and her colleagues wanted to learn more about the attitudes of young doctors towards advance directives. So the researchers asked what choices they would make for themselves if they were terminally ill. How do people make their end-of-life...
by Christine | Jun 4, 2014 | Federal Estate Tax, Tax Law |
What is the $5 million federal estate-tax exclusion, and how does it work? Now that "tax time" is over for many Americans, the subject of taxes may not come up as often. In fact, when it comes to the estate tax you may not think about it until you sit down...
by Christine | Jun 3, 2014 | Elder Law, Estate Planning, International Law |
One of your first considerations should be where to keep your money. When you move abroad, you will most likely need to open a bank account in the new country in order to pay local bills. An increasing number of people are retiring on foreign shores. If you’re...
by Christine | Jun 2, 2014 | Estate Planning, Women & the Law |
It’s not that there are different estate-planning tools for each sex. But women are likelier to live longer, they’re likelier to be custodial parents and, speaking generally, women often approach the topic differently than men. Do you think estate planning for women...
by Christine | May 30, 2014 | Estate Law, Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA), Inherited IRAs, Trustee, Trusts |
Worried about your adult children blowing through their inheritance? Two strategies can help holders of individual retirement accounts curb an heir’s impulse to “cash out.” You may have many assets to leave behind for your heirs. However, an IRA is unique enough to be...
by Christine | May 26, 2014 | Charitable Giving, Philanthropy |
Picking the right charity can be so complicated that it makes picking stocks look easy. When you give to charity, do you ever wonder if your donation is really going where it's supposed to? Or if your gift is doing the work you intended? If you are wrestling with...
by Christine | May 23, 2014 | Elder Care, Elder Law, Medicare |
Medicare has published new rules spelling out the changes, and an education campaign aimed at healthcare providers began in January. But many healthcare providers haven't grasped it, either. As you may know, Medicare has recently undergone a big change affecting...
by Christine | May 22, 2014 | Elder Law, Estate Planning |
“Young people may be eager to marry for love, but older couples are more practical and worry about paying the bills,” says Pepper Schwartz, professor of sociology at the University of Washington. These days, more and more Americans are meeting new loves or (finally)...
