by Christine | May 15, 2012 | Estate Planning, Estate Tax, Gift Tax |
The current scheduled changes in the estate and gift tax rates and exemptions have me struggling to come up with some good titles for people with a net worth of $4 to $15 million. How about “midmillionaires,” or “midmills” for short? In the upcoming year many...
by Christine | May 14, 2012 | Alzheimer's, Dementia, Elder Law, Estate Planning, Living Will, Medical Directives, Trusts |
ELDER LAW Increasingly, I see many clients experiencing and living with elderly parents who are grappling with memory loss and finding it difficult to manage their finances. And most of them, I'm learning, are making the same mistake: they're waiting too...
by Christine | May 11, 2012 | Estate Planning, Small Business, Succession Planning |
The wealth of many boomers is tied up in businesses they own. And that can be a problem when it comes time to retire. If you’re a small business owner, then you probably speak of your business and your life in the same breath. There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact,...
by Christine | May 10, 2012 | Estate Planning, Estate Tax, Exit Tax, Expatriation, Retirement Planning |
U.S. citizens or long-term residents who expatriate after June 16, 2008, are treated as having sold all their worldwide property for its fair market value the day before leaving the U.S. As far as the IRS is concerned, permanently leaving the country is something on...
by Christine | May 9, 2012 | Estate Planning, Estate Tax |
Death and taxes may be equally inevitable, but the taxman demands the last word. Death does not excuse a final accounting with the IRS. In fact, taxes can further complicate the lives of survivors. Of the two certainties in life – that is, of death and of taxes –the...
by Christine | May 8, 2012 | Estate Planning, Religion |
For many people, estate planning isn't just about financial assets and other practical concerns. It's also about honoring their religious beliefs and passing those values on to family members. That can be very tricky ground. Planning your estate may seem like...
by Christine | May 7, 2012 | Disinheritance, Estate Planning |
The motives for cutting a relative out of an estate range from the most primal — hate, abandonment, regret — to the most rational. Planning what to leave behind to loved ones can be a difficult matter since, even with taxes out of the picture, it means explaining your...
by Christine | May 4, 2012 | Dynasty Trust, Estate Planning, Generation Skipping Trust, Trusts |
Generation-skipping trusts, also known as dynasty trusts, are designed primarily to avoid estate taxes each time one generation transfers wealth to the next generation. For a number of reasons, the government seems to think that family wealth ought to pass from one...
by Christine | May 3, 2012 | Uncategorized |
I just recently added an educational video on special needs planning to my website. If you know of anyone who could use this type of planning, please share it with them. Check out my other educational videos on my YouTube channel. R. Christine...
by Christine | May 3, 2012 | Estate Planning, Small Business, Succession Planning |
Just because two business partners get along well doesn’t mean the next generation will do so too. When succession planning is done in advance, restrictions — or at the very least, mechanisms to dictate how decisions will be made and what procedures are to be used in...
