Any time you are looking for financial advice you need to be certain that you have identified a top notch resource. Estate planning involves the distribution of the assets you have been able to accumulate throughout your life, and this is indeed an important task. But many people look to elder law attorneys to help them plan for their twilight years as well, so there is a great deal to consider and you don't want to trust these matters to just anybody. With that in mind, here are some tips on … [Read more...] about Identifying The Right Estate Planning Lawyer
Charitable Remainder Trusts: Mutually Beneficial
There are those who have a tendency to identify the ills of our society and point fingers, exclaiming that "someone has to do something!" In many cases, you may be able to find that "somebody" looking back at you when you look into the mirror. No one individual can do it all, but we can all do our part. When you are planning your estate you will invariably travel the highway of introspection in your mind's eye and consider the totality of your legacy. This leads many people toward a desire to … [Read more...] about Charitable Remainder Trusts: Mutually Beneficial
VA Benefit Can Defray Long Term Care Costs
The recently released MetLife long term care market research study shed a lot of light on how challenging it is to make long term financial plans. The average annual cost for a yearlong stay in a private room in a nursing home went up by 4.6% in 2010 over 2009, reaching a hefty $83,585. The charge for a year's residence in an assisted living facility in the United States rose 5.2% from $37,572 to $39,516 on average. Industry analysts expect this upward trending to continue, so if you are making … [Read more...] about VA Benefit Can Defray Long Term Care Costs
Keeping Estate Tax Changes In Perspective
There is a difference between less of a bad thing and a good thing, and this is something to keep in mind going forward when you consider the impact of the changes that have been made to the estate tax parameters. As has been widely reported, the estate tax exclusion amount was raised from the $1 million that had been anticipated up to $5 million, and the rate of the tax was reduced from the 55% that had been scheduled for 2011 down to 35%. If you are not in favor of the estate tax, this was … [Read more...] about Keeping Estate Tax Changes In Perspective
GST & Gift Tax Exemptions Raised Under New Tax Law
The new tax measure that made its way through Congress at the end of the year is being termed the "Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010." It is interesting to consider this juxtaposed alongside the act that was passed in the beginning of the last decade that was deemed the "Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001." The latter legislative action has since come to be known as the "Bush tax cuts." So when the matter of possible tax … [Read more...] about GST & Gift Tax Exemptions Raised Under New Tax Law
Asset Erosion & Legacy Trusts
Now that the smoke has cleared and we are working with a new set of estate tax parameters going forward in 2011 and 2012, the reality is kind of setting in with a thud. Yes, we are not going to be faced with the 55% maximum rate that was scheduled, and that is good. But the 35% rate that we are left with is still extreme, and when you consider the impact that it can have over a couple of generations it is staggering. Let's look at a very basic hypothetical scenario to illustrate the point. … [Read more...] about Asset Erosion & Legacy Trusts
Powers Of Attorney & Estate Planning
Estate planning is one branch of the larger tree of elder law, so when you consult with an estate planning attorney you will have the opportunity to prepare for all of the possibilities that come along with aging. It is not something that most people want to consider so it is often swept under the carpet, but one of the contingencies that it would be prudent to prepare for is that of incapacity. When you look at the statistics objectively you can see why any intelligently conceived estate plan … [Read more...] about Powers Of Attorney & Estate Planning
New Tax Law Provides Exclusion Portability For Married Couples
We recently passed along the news about the changes in the estate tax parameters that will be in effect going forward after the new tax legislation that was signed into law on December 17, 2010. To recap briefly, the estate tax had been scheduled to reappear after a one-year repeal in 2011 with an exclusion of $1 million and a top rate of 55%. Many people took exception to these numbers because they represented a huge step backward from the $3.5 million exclusion and 45% rate of taxation that … [Read more...] about New Tax Law Provides Exclusion Portability For Married Couples
Enriched Inheritance Planning
The term estate planning has a financial connotation attached to it, and of course this is not unfounded. But the person whose assets need to be prepared for distribution and the estate planning attorney who is assisting are both human beings. Those who will be receiving inheritances are human as well, so there's more to the exercise than moving around numbers on a spreadsheet. When you are planning your estate you are taking stock of your legacy and preparing to pass it along to your loved … [Read more...] about Enriched Inheritance Planning
Aging, Alzheimer’s Disease, & Incapacity Planning
The field of elder law involves assisting people who are trying to prepare for all of the eventualities of aging. These possibilities are many and varied, and during the times within which we are living the senior population is booming. Senior citizens are the fastest-growing segment of the population in America. Just how fast is this age group expanding? It is estimated that by 2030 the number of senior citizens in the United States will double. To take this demographic probing a step further, … [Read more...] about Aging, Alzheimer’s Disease, & Incapacity Planning
