by Christine | May 13, 2013 | Estate Law, Estate Planning, Marriage, Probate |
If a conflict of interest arises in fact between the spouses, their estate planning attorney should withdraw and advise the spouses to retain separate counsel. Having represented both of the spouses, the attorney may not thereafter represent one of them against...
by Christine | May 10, 2013 | Budget, Dynasty Trust, Estate Planning, GRATs, Intentionally Defective Grantor Trust (IDGT), Obama |
… The new budget proposal targets various estate planning tools utilized by taxpayers in an effort to limit tax loopholes and generate revenue In the midst of the budget battlefield, many estate planning attorneys are closing watching the President’s budget proposal....
by Christine | May 9, 2013 | Estate Planning, Obamacare, Taxes, Trusts |
So make sure the trustee is one of the officers of the company, which in a family business is pretty likely anyway, and you are all set right? Not so fast according to the IRS’ Associate Area Counsel who authored TAM 201317010. Trusts can accomplish...
by Christine | May 8, 2013 | Beneficiary Forms, Estate Planning, Estate Tax, LIfe Insurance, Trusts, Wills |
Consider the people who fill out forms designating who inherits assets like an insurance policy and then never go back and revise the forms when, for instance, they divorce and remarry. And then, there are the parents who have not determined who will serve as...
by Christine | May 7, 2013 | Beneficiary, Elder Law, Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) |
If the IRA owner died before their RBD, there is no year of death RMD that you need to take. However, if the IRA owner died after their RBD, there may be an RMD that you as their beneficiary have to take that year. When a loved one is no longer with us, do all of...
by Christine | May 6, 2013 | Digital Assets, Digital Estate Planning, Estate Planning |
Let's face it: Your e-mail account, Facebook page and online photo albums are likely to outlive you. Deciding how to manage your digital legacy just may be your trickiest estate-planning task. You may be well aware of your assets, but what about those “digital”...
by Christine | May 3, 2013 | Estate Planning, Family Business, Small Business |
Known as employee stock-ownership plans, or ESOPs, the move is being embraced by smaller firms, especially those struggling to find buyers during the weak economy. Businesses are formed in many ways, and we have come to know those varying abbreviations (S-Corp,...
by Christine | May 2, 2013 | College Planning, Estate Planning |
Total assets in all 86 U.S. education savings plans – named 529 plans after a section in the Internal Revenue Code – rose 25 percent to $166 billion in 2012, according to Morningstar. Making plans for the next generation often involve planning for their...
by Christine | May 1, 2013 | Estate Planning, Family, Heirs, Inheritance |
For many parents, it is easier to talk to their children about sex than money. And there are few touchier subjects for wealthy families than the topic of inheritance. Don’t we all dread certain “talks” we’re supposed to have with our children? But even though we’d...
by Christine | Apr 30, 2013 | Estate Planning |
The fact that my life had instantly transitioned into a foreign, new reality was finally processed for me when my dad’s business partner showed me around their recycling business—a venture that I knew absolutely nothing about. Managing your own personal finances can...