Life insurance can be an affordable way to provide for our children, spouse, a sibling, aging parents and others if we should die while they are depending on us. Life insurance proceeds can provide extra income to help pay ongoing household bills and child care; pay off a mortgage, Continue reading
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Planning Opportunities Available to All Families
With the $5.12 million per person exemption from federal estate tax ($10.24 million for married couples), most of the estate planning ‘talk’ recently has been on the planning opportunities available to affluent families. However, the need for estate planning remains for everyone.
According Continue reading
10 Things To Do Before the End of This Year
The end of the year will be here before we know it. But there is still time to meet some major estate planning goals. Here are ten things to do before the end of 2012.
1. Have your estate planning done. Set the end of the year as your deadline to finally get this completed. If you Continue reading
Get Ready for These Five New Taxes on January 1, 2013
Now that the health care law has been declared constitutional, several significant provisions will become effective on January 1, 2013.
Tax #1: 3.8% Surtax on Investment Income
This new tax will be levied on net investment income if modified adjusted gross income is more than the ‘threshold Continue reading
Tax #1: 3.8% Surtax on Investment Income
This new tax will be levied on net investment income if modified adjusted gross income is more than the ‘threshold Continue reading
Estate Planning After Divorce
One area that is often overlooked in the divorce process is the need to update estate planning. Most people would agree that their ex-spouse is the last person they want to inherit their assets when they die or to have that person make life and death decisions for them. But that is Continue reading
Treating Children Fairly Does Not Necessarily Mean Equally
Most parents want to treat their children fairly in their estate planning, and many assume that means having their children inherit equally. But fair does not necessarily mean equal. There may be special circumstances to consider.
For example, parents may want to provide more to a Continue reading
For example, parents may want to provide more to a Continue reading
The Many Needs for Life Insurance in Our Lives
The main reasons most people have life insurance are to pay final expenses (medical, funeral, burial, etc.), replace an income stream and/or create wealth for our dependents after we die. Life insurance can also play an important role in business, estate planning and charitable giving.
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Paying for College…and accomplishing estate planning too
With higher education costs outpacing inflation by 5-6% per year, and the average cost of a four-year public school at nearly $20,000 per year (double that for private schools) it’s no surprise that many parents and grandparents are deeply concerned about how they will pay for higher education. Many of these clients are similarly concerned about estate planning.
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Estate Planning Today Must Include Digital Assets and Social Media
It wasn’t very long ago that we had only paper for financial and tax records. We could simply point to a file cabinet or drawer and tell someone, ‘Everything is in there when the time comes.’ But now we have computers and the internet, and so much of our lives is online. Unless we include our digital assets and social media in our estate planning, our family or administrator may not be able to find critical documents.
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Online and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Estate Planning
With the number of online and do-it-yourself (DIY) legal providers continuing to grow, some of individuals may be wondering if they could do their estate planning themselves. The advertising is seductive: attorneys use similar forms, the cost is significantly less than hiring an attorney, Continue reading