There’s new legislation working its way through Congress right now concerning retirement savings. The SECURE Act, passed by the House in May of this year and now under consideration by the Senate, will make mostly positive changes but also a significant negative change to the laws governing our ‘nest eggs’. For many of us, traditional IRAs, 401Ks, and similar ‘qualified…
Often times we think of estate planning when we are older or after we have children. However, it can be a very important step for children that are soon to reach the age of majority. Parents and families are often so busy planning for the transition of their children from high school to the next step in their life that…
If you read our law firm’s articles on a regular basis, you have gained a basic understanding of estate planning and the documents that make up an estate plan. For this article, I’ll be addressing the process of estate planning itself and discussing how each component of an estate plan works with the other parts. Estate planning is multifaceted and…
For years people have tried to transfer wealth before death. There are many reasons for doing so but often the main motivation was estate tax avoidance. Now, with changes in tax law and very high exemptions, most people will not pay any estate tax upon death. A more recent motivation has been Medical Assistance laws. If the County pays any…
Have you ever been asked to be a trustee? Or maybe no one asked you, but you were listed in someone’s estate documents as a trustee. You now had to figure out exactly, what is a trustee and what do they do. A trustee is a person or company that holds and administers property for the benefit of a third…
Years ago, people were stuck with lawyers when drafting a will or other common legal documents as they really had no alternative. In the internet era, on the other hand, you can find a form for just about anything. I’ve had many people bring in forms randomly found on the internet or paid for through some remote legal services company. …
We all know we “should” do some planning for our future, but how many of us follow through with it. I’m talking about planning for someone to help you manage your financial assets and your health care decisions if you are unable to do it yourself. If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer or another disease, you usually have the ability/time…
We are all busy making our list and checking it twice. Have you reviewed your beneficiary designations? Can you check that off your list? Beneficiary designations are a way in which we identify who we want to give an asset to after we pass away. We complete beneficiary designation forms when we sign up for our employer’s 401(k) retirement plan,…
As much as we try to avoid it, taxation is a part of life. We are faced with sales tax, income tax, estate tax, capital gains tax, gift tax and property tax to name a few. With the 2018 year coming to a close, some of us are thinking what else can we do to minimize our tax bill, both…
I wanted to share with you some information about a workshop called The Final Gift. The parish nurse at my Church has organized several of these workshops after she attended one in a nearby community. The Final Gift is intended to be your final gift to your family. Death is a very hard topic for most to deal with let…