If you have never sat down with an estate planning attorney before, you may be a bit uncomfortable during your initial meeting. Because of the nature of the consultation and objectives, your estate planning attorney is likely to ask you some rather personal questions. Along with knowing that your conversation with your estate planning attorney is completely confidential, it may help to understand why he or she needs to ask these questions. Your attorney will probably want to know about your … [Read more...] about Answering Uncomfortable Questions from Your Estate Planning Attorney
Finding the Right Nursing Home
If you have an elderly loved one in your life, chances are that you may be faced with choosing a nursing home at some point in the future. If you believe that nursing home care will be needed, it is best to start your search as soon as possible in order to locate the best and most affordable care available. Between the time it takes to complete the application process, the time it takes to arrange for the financial aspect of nursing home care, and the fact that many good homes have a waiting … [Read more...] about Finding the Right Nursing Home
Estate Planning Mistakes You Can Easily Avoid
Over half of all Americans do not have an estate plan. If you have finally decide not to be one of them, and are prepared to finally create your own estate plan, make sure that you avoid some common mistakes. As tempting as it may be, do not rely on “do-it-yourself” estate planning forms. This is not the area of your budget where you want to choose saving money over substance. More importantly, in the long run, using generic forms may cost your loved ones considerably more than you saved by … [Read more...] about Estate Planning Mistakes You Can Easily Avoid
Trusting a Family Member to Be Trustee – Is It a Wise choice?
More and more people are choosing to include a trust in their estate plan. Trusts offer numerous benefits such as probate avoidance, tax benefits, and continued control over trust assets; however, these benefits are only available if the trust is managed properly. That, in turn, depends in large part on your choice of trustee. While it may seem a natural choice to appoint a family member as your trustee, you should ask yourself if this is really a wise choice. Appointing a family member as … [Read more...] about Trusting a Family Member to Be Trustee – Is It a Wise choice?
Including a Charity into Your Estate Plan
A comprehensive estate plan does much more than simply decide who will receive which assets when you die. For most people, an estate plan also includes incapacity planning, retirement planning and even charitable giving. If you wish to include charitable giving into your estate plan, you should be sure to do your homework first. Choosing a charity can be a daunting task considering that there are over one million public charitable organizations alone throughout the U.S. according to the … [Read more...] about Including a Charity into Your Estate Plan
Questions Worth Asking Yourself in Preparation for Your First Estate Planning Consultation
If you have finally taken the first step in creating an estate plan and made an appointment with an estate planning attorney, you are to be congratulated. Unfortunately, statistics tell us that as many as half of all Americans have yet to create an estate plan despite knowing how important one is. One reason that people give for procrastinating is that they know very little about estate planning and therefore are not comfortable thinking about meeting with an attorney to create a plan. One way … [Read more...] about Questions Worth Asking Yourself in Preparation for Your First Estate Planning Consultation
Who Is More Likely to Put Off Estate Planning?
We all know that a surprising percentage of people put off creating an estate plan. Although that may come as no surprise, what might surprise you is the number of investors who do not have a comprehensive estate plan in place. A recent survey found that over 20 percent of all investors who responded to the survey did not have an estate plan. The survey provided some insight into which investors were more likely to procrastinate when it came to creating an estate plan. Money, age, sex, and … [Read more...] about Who Is More Likely to Put Off Estate Planning?
Are You Forgetting an Important Tax Document This Year?
As the dreaded April 15th tax deadline looms close, millions of taxpayers are digging through receipts looking for last minute deductions and meeting with tax professionals to try and find ways to limit the amount of taxes they owe this year. While taxpayers do this every year, one thing that many do not do on a regular basis is prepare and file a gift tax return; however, this year you may be required to do so. Because of the roller coaster ride that taxpayers went on last year waiting to see … [Read more...] about Are You Forgetting an Important Tax Document This Year?
LGBTQ Estate Planning May Change Drastically after SCOTUS Hearings
The highest court in the land, the United States Supreme Court, recently heard oral arguments on a case that may drastically change estate planning, as well as other areas of the law, for the LGBTQ community. The case before the Court began back in 2009 when the petitioner’s same-sex partner of 44 years died. Her partner left a sizable estate to her which incurred over $350,000 in estate and gift taxes. Had the couple been considered legally married under federal law, the asset transfer would … [Read more...] about LGBTQ Estate Planning May Change Drastically after SCOTUS Hearings
Worst Case Scenario Planning—the Best Way to Approach Your Estate Plan
It may seem strange to think in terms of military planning when you set out to create your estate plan, but there are some surprising similarities in the way a military action and an estate plan are approached. No two estates are the same which requires an individual approach to each estate plan. Furthermore, estate planning requires what in military terms is referred to as “scenario planning,” meaning that you must consider all possible scenarios before you make decisions. In a military … [Read more...] about Worst Case Scenario Planning—the Best Way to Approach Your Estate Plan
