When considering how to leave assets to adult children, the first step is to decide how much each one should receive. Most parents want to treat their children fairly, but this doesn’t necessarily mean they should receive equal shares of your estate. For example, it may be desirable to give more to a child who…
Learn How to Leave Assets to Minor Children and Avoid These Common, Expensive Mistakes.
Most parents want to make sure their children are provided for in the event something happens to them while the children are still minors. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and good friends sometimes want to leave gifts to beloved young children too. Unfortunately, good intentions and poor planning often have unintended results. Don’t make these common, expensive…
What Happens to Your Student Loan Debt When You Die?
There are two issues many people prefer to avoid thinking about: death and debt. Unfortunately, both of these seems to be inevitable. Student loan debt is a part of life nowadays, particular for students obtaining advanced or professional degrees. As of 2017, the total national student debt is now over $1.4 trillion with college students…
Does a Dynasty Trust Make Sense for Your Family?
In 2017, NBA team owner Gail Miller made headlines when she announced that she was effectively no longer the owner of the Utah Jazz or the Vivint Smart Home Arena. These assets, she said, were being placed into a family trust, therefore raising interest in an estate planning tool previously known only to the very…
Small Business Owner? Know What Can Happen to Your Business If You Become Incapacitated or Pass Away
Preparing your company for your incapacity or death is vital to the survival of the enterprise. Otherwise, your business will be disrupted, harming your customers, employees, vendors, and ultimately, your family. For this reason, proactive financial planning — including your business and your estate plan — is key. Below are some tips on how to…
Are Payable-On-Death Accounts Right For You?
A payable-on-death account, also called a POD account, is a common way to keep bank and investment accounts out of probate, the court-supervised process that oversees distributing a deceased person’s property. Most people want to avoid their estate going through probate because their heirs will receive the inheritance faster, privately, and at lower cost. Is…
After Tax Reform, Is Estate Planning Still Necessary?
The new tax legislation raises the federal estate tax exemption to $11.2 million for individuals and $22.4 million for couples. The increase means that an exceedingly small number of estates (only about 1,800, nationally) will have to worry about federal estate taxes in 2018, according to estimates from the nonpartisan congressional Joint Committee on Taxation….
Why Your Estate Planner Needs to Know If You’ve Lent Money to Family
Many children and grandchildren are skipping the traditional bank and obtaining loans from parents or grandparents. Unfortunately, we have all heard stories of families torn apart because of disagreements over money. So, what can you do to make sure your intra-family loans help – rather than hurt – your family? As far as estate planning…
High Deductible Health Plan? How Your Health Savings Account (HSA) Works with Your Estate Plan
If you’re enrolled in a qualified high-deductible health plan (HDHP), you must consider how your health savings account (HSA) fits into your estate plan-especially to make sure that any hard-earned money left in your HSA when you die goes where you want it. What is an HSA? An HSA is an account whose funds may…
All you need to know about Estate Planning and the New 2018 Tax Law.
For most people the estate tax hasn’t come into play for many years. Instead of eliminating the estate tax, the estate tax exemption has been raised to $11 million for an individual, and $22 million for a married couple that elects portability. Let’s take a moment to explain how the estate tax exemptions and gift…
Organizing for Tax (and Estate Planning) Season
It’s the start of a new year, which means tax season – and this year’s April 17th IRS filing deadline – is just around the corner. Soon you’ll be receiving tax forms such as your W-2 or 1099s, and you’ll start thinking about the life events that could affect your taxes in various ways. This…
What to Expect from Estate Planning in 2018
As we all look ahead to 2018, let’s consider a few things to watch regarding estate planning, so you and your family can be completely protected. The death tax. The death tax has been in a state of flux ever since the early 2000s when the Bush administration’s first tax cuts changed the exemption and…
