by Christine | Nov 23, 2011 | Uncategorized |
Whenever making loans — to anyone — there should be a written promissory note that spells out the amount borrowed, whether interest is being charged and how repayments are to be made. It’s fine if it’s merely a demand loan and there’s no repayment schedule. But...
by Christine | Nov 23, 2011 | Uncategorized |
Whenever making loans — to anyone — there should be a written promissory note that spells out the amount borrowed, whether interest is being charged and how repayments are to be made. It’s fine if it’s merely a demand loan and there’s no repayment schedule. But...
by Christine | Nov 22, 2011 | Estate Planning, Tax Planning |
If you’re in the fortunate position of deciding where to leave your millions or billions (or even if you are not), take some advice from billionaire Warren Buffett’s son, Peter: Don’t spoil them. It doesn’t take an experienced estate planner to say so, but “money is...
by Christine | Nov 22, 2011 | Estate Planning, Tax Planning |
If you’re in the fortunate position of deciding where to leave your millions or billions (or even if you are not), take some advice from billionaire Warren Buffett’s son, Peter: Don’t spoil them. It doesn’t take an experienced estate planner to say so, but “money is...
by Christine | Nov 21, 2011 | Estate Planning |
"You often just don't know what you're going to end up with if you donate" to smaller charities, says Ken Berger, president and chief executive officer at charity evaluator Charity Navigator. You may not know "whether or not [the charity] is...
by Christine | Nov 18, 2011 | Business Succession Planning, Estate Planning, Tax Planning |
As the end of the year approaches, small business owners need to meet with accountants or tax preparers to review tax-planning strategies. “Every accountant is going to be sitting with their entrepreneur clients in the next few weeks to see what they can do, both on...
by Christine | Nov 17, 2011 | Elder Law, Medi-Cal Long Term Care |
A Wisconsin appeals court rules that a Medicaid applicant who transferred funds to her children, who then put them in an irrevocable trust for her benefit, is ineligible for Medicaid because the trust is an available asset under state law, even though the transfer...
by Christine | Nov 16, 2011 | Estate Planning, Tax Planning |
Rumors are circulating that the Super Committee may be planning to cut Gift Tax Exemptions from $5,000,000 to $1,000,000. The really scary part of the rumors is that the change may have an effective date of November 23, 2011. With the Super Committee in a deadlock...
by Christine | Nov 15, 2011 | Estate Planning, Retirement Planning |
[Qualified Charitable Deductions] can be used to satisfy the RMD requirement for the IRA owner. This means that the IRA owner who doesn’t need his or her RMD for income can direct the distribution to the charity of his or her choice. If you would rather be a...
by Christine | Nov 14, 2011 | Elder Law |
The biggest rise [in poverty] occurred among people aged 65 and older who are being driven into poverty by out-of-pocket medical expenses, including premiums and co-pays from the federal government's Medicare program for the elderly. It’s been fairly clear that...
