Estate Planning Briefs

It’s difficult for many people to think about their mortality, so it’s not surprising to learn that many put off planning their own funerals. Unfortunately, this lack of planning may result in emotional turmoil for surviving family members when someone dies unexpectedly. Also, a death in the family may cause unintended financial consequences. Why not […]

Although your will or revocable trust governs the distribution of many or most of your assets, certain assets — such as retirement plans, insurance policies, and bank or brokerage accounts — require you to name a beneficiary (or beneficiaries). This can be an advantage, because when you die, the funds can pass directly to your

If you’re married and have children from a previous marriage plus children or stepchildren from your current marriage, your family is considered a blended family. And because you’ll likely wish to pass your wealth on to all of your biological children but also provide for your spouse and perhaps any stepchildren, estate planning can get

If you’ve recently divorced, your time likely has been consumed with attorney meetings and negotiations, even if everything was amicable. Probably the last thing you want to do is review your estate plan. But you owe it to yourself and your children to make the necessary updates to reflect your current situation. Keep Assets in

Hopefully, you already have a sound estate plan in place to protect the interests of your heirs and minimize potential estate tax liability. But that doesn’t mean you’re completely in the clear. You can’t just fill out the paperwork, lock up the documents in a file cabinet or store them electronically, and forget about it.

Retirement planning and estate planning often go hand in hand: The more you save in retirement, the more you’ll have to pass on to the next generation. If you currently have a substantial balance in a traditional IRA, you may be considering whether you should convert the IRA to a Roth IRA. To answer that

The IRS recently announced next year’s cost-of-living adjustment amounts. For 2022, the federal gift and estate tax exemption has cracked the $12 million mark: $12.06 million to be exact. Arguably more notable, the annual gift tax exemption has increased by $1,000 to $16,000 per recipient ($32,000 for married couples). It’s adjusted only in $1,000 increments,

Estate planners generally tout the virtues of owning property jointly — and with good reason. Joint ownership offers several advantages for surviving family members. But this shouldn’t be viewed as a panacea for every estate planning concern. You must also be aware of all the implications. 2 Types of Joint Ownership As the name implies,

The need for a will as a key component of your estate plan may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised by the number of people — even affluent individuals — who don’t have one. A reason for this may be a common misconception that a revocable trust (sometimes called a “living trust”) obviates the need

Valuation and estate planning go hand in hand. After all, the tax implications of various estate planning strategies depend on the value of your assets at the time they’re transferred. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the value of many business interests and other assets, which may create some attractive estate planning