by Christine | Oct 29, 2012 | Beneficiary, Estate Planning, LIfe Insurance |
Assets that allow beneficiary designations provide powerful benefits that permit the owner to designate who will inherit the assets, how they can inherit the assets, avoidance of probate, and potential tax minimization, to name a few. Most individuals do not give the...
by Christine | Oct 26, 2012 | 2012, Gift, Legacy Assets |
The problem is that few professional advisers understand the issues and opportunities surrounding the gifting of legacy assets, and even fewer owners of legacy assets are even aware that such planning is possible. Did you know 2013 is looming on the calendar as a huge...
by Christine | Oct 25, 2012 | Charitable IRA Rollover, Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) |
Many experts are betting that Congress will revive a popular tax provision that allows those ages 70½ or older to save on taxes while donating assets in their individual retirement accounts to charity. But if you intend to give money to charity this year, don't...
by Christine | Oct 24, 2012 | Estate Planning |
National Estate Planning Awareness Week (Oct. 15-21). What’s that? As Forbes Senior Editor Deborah L. Jacobs put it in a recent post: “It’s a bit of a contrivance by lawyers in the field to get you to seek out their services. But it’s also a good time to...
by Christine | Oct 23, 2012 | Estate Planning, Special Needs Trusts, Trusts |
With each passing election season, the conversations about the cost of government-provided health care and Social Security get more urgent. But debates about the deserving and the undeserving and the proper level of budgets and taxes tend to gloss over the issue of...
by Christine | Oct 22, 2012 | COLA, Small Business |
More than 56 million Social Security recipients will see their monthly payments increase by 1.7% in January… The increase is among the lowest since automatic annual adjustments were adopted in 1975. Did you know your Social Security payout increase will be the lowest...
by Christine | Oct 19, 2012 | Gift Tax, GIfting |
For those weighing what to do with the assets they have accumulated over a lifetime, the next few weeks may be time to make the final call. That’s because the current federal tax exemption on estates and gifts is set to roll back on Jan. 1 from $5.12 million to $1...
by Christine | Oct 18, 2012 | 2013, Estate Planning, Gift Tax |
Next year, that $13,000 limit on gifts is expected to increase to $14,000—an inflation adjustment required by law. The number isn't yet official—and won't be until later this year when the Internal Revenue Service will announce this and many other inflation...
by Christine | Oct 17, 2012 | Asset Protection, Trusts |
Sometimes you may hear “revocable trusts provide no asset protection” — however, this is only half-true. Trusts are powerful devices. In fact, even “revocable” trusts can afford valuable protection. Consider the case of Frank and Geryl Pearl, as reported in a...
by Christine | Oct 16, 2012 | Charitable Giving |
There is certainly a place for special trusts and foundations, but they are not a requirement. There are many ways people aren’t aware of to be charitable both in your own family and also in your community. Giving can be complicated, especially when it moves...
