What can you do to lessen its impact for your heirs? Probate subtly reduces the value of many estates. It can take more than a year in some cases, and attorney’s fees, appraiser’s fees and court costs may eat up as much as 5% of a...
Things to check and double-check before you leave this world. Estate planning is a task that people tend to put off, as any discussion of “the end” tends to be off-putting. However, those who leave this world without their financial affairs in good order risk leaving...
Many myths surround these popular estate planning tools. Living trusts are created with a clearly defined objective: to avoid probate. Misconceptions about living trusts have spread to the point where people think they can accomplish much more than they really do. Here is a realistic assessment...
Will your accumulated assets be threatened by them? All too often, family wealth fails to last. One generation builds a business – or even a fortune – and it is lost in ensuing decades. Why does it happen, again and again? It is because families fall prey...
A look at some financial changes & the opportunities they may present. Every year brings some financial change, so here are some relevant changes relating to investment, tax and estate planning for 2012. Retirement plans. 401(k), 403(b) and 457 plan annual contribution limits rise slightly to $17,000,...
A lack of knowledge can lead to problems and disappointments for your heirs. Be vigilant, and be knowledgeable. Do you want to hand your heirs big tax problems? Would you like to hand the IRS a sizable chunk of your wealth? Probably not. But if you...
Should you exploit the new $5 million lifetime gift exemption? In late 2010, Congress reunified the estate tax, gift tax and generation-skipping tax (GST), giving them all top rates of 35% with $5 million lifetime individual exemptions.1 In addition, the estate and gift tax exemptions are now...
We will all leave this world sometime. Why leave unanswered questions with those we love? We all want to live a significant, successful life. Yet how many of us realize that our important, positive contributions can last long after we are gone? Two things are certain: death...