by Christine | Aug 13, 2012 | Estate Planning, Special Needs Children, Special Needs Trusts, Trusts |
Having a long-term financial plan in place is crucial for parents of special-needs children. It will help parents juggle saving for the child's care as well as for college for other children and their own retirement. It also will help guarantee that the care—and...
by Christine | Aug 10, 2012 | Alzheimer's, Elder Care, Elder Law |
The way people walk appears to speak volumes about the way they think, so much so that changes in an older person’s gait appear to be an early indicator of cognitive impairment, including Alzheimer’s disease. Cognitive impairments, like Alzheimer’s and...
by Christine | Aug 9, 2012 | Estate Tax, Family Business, Farms, Liquid Assets |
The American Farm Bureau Federation said it concurs with a Joint Economic Committee report, "Costs and Consequences of the Federal Estate Tax," released Wednesday that details the financial harm posed by estate taxes on family businesses. It’s a simple...
by Christine | Aug 9, 2012 | Same Sex Estate Planning, Same Sex Parents |
Same-sex couples raising children must stand ready to prove to the world they are a family, just one that happens to have two mothers or two fathers. This constant burden of proof is especially difficult for families … who live in a state that doesn’t allow them to...
by Christine | Aug 8, 2012 | Estate Planning, Small Business, Taxes |
Last week a colleague and I were discussing a C Corporation with nearly three-quarters of a million dollars in retained earnings, with owners who want to get the money out. The owners wondered about any “fancy tax ideas.” My colleague immediately stated, “Yeah;...
by Christine | Aug 7, 2012 | 2010, Estate Tax, Formula Clause, Trusts |
You need to make sure your will and trusts are worded to accommodate all the possibilities. You also need to revisit them regularly to avoid ending up with a very different result than what you think you're planning. Updating your estate plan to keep it current...
by Christine | Aug 2, 2012 | Asset Protection |
The exception oftentimes proves the rule. This can be especially true in a court of law or to any prudent planner protecting their assets. Certainly, this is the lesson to learn from the recent bankruptcy case of In re Thomas, 2012 WL 2792348 (Bkrtcy.D.Idaho, Slip...
by Christine | Aug 1, 2012 | Elder Law, Estate Planning, Retirement Planning, Surviving Spouse |
Estate planning is critical to make sure your assets are passed down as you wish. But another component of estate planning for couples is making sure that the surviving spouse has enough money to live on. Most married couples want to ensure that all of their resources...
by Christine | Jul 31, 2012 | Alzheimer's, Art, Estate Planning |
For many owners of artwork or decorative collectibles, scenario planning works well for individual or a small number of items. Estate planning is a process, not a “one-and-done” event. Sometimes anticipating future curveballs in life may necessitate weaving scenario...
by Christine | Jul 30, 2012 | Estate Planning, Inheritance |
Inheriting money would seem like one of life’s unabashed blessings: someone gives you a lump sum just for being you. For the rest of us, inheritors seem like a democracy’s version of royalty: born into a world of privilege we would love to know. Yet the inheritors I...
