“The couple needs to create an appropriate estate plan. If they truly want inheritance rights, they need to execute testamentary documents, such as wills.” For unmarried couples, having an estate plan might be even more important than for married couples, especially if there are children in the family. The unmarried couple does not enjoy all […]

“The death of a loved one is always a difficult time. The last thing most people want when they’re grieving is to have to deal with the IRS and state tax officials.” Unfortunately, unless the person you love has an estate plan and has spoken with you about it, the time you are grieving will […]

“Avoiding probate usually is the main appeal for living trusts. Trusts also can provide a gentler transition, if the grantor becomes incapacitated.” Any trust created while the person, known as the “grantor,” is living, is known as a “living trust.” However, the term is also used interchangeably with “revocable trusts,” which can be changed according […]

No one wants a nursing home but the longer we live, the higher the chance we may need a nursing home at the end of life.” Nursing home care is expensive, costing between $12,000 to $20,000 per month, so most seniors should do all they can to prepare for this possibility. According to a recent […]

“Everyone, regardless of financial status or age, can benefit from having an estate plan—assuming you have assets to leave and people to leave them to.” Estate planning is not just about making a will, nor is it just for people who live in mansions. Estate planning is best described in the title of this article […]

“As states address budget woes due to the pandemic, one place they may turn to for revenue as they have in past economic crises is death taxes.” The District of Columbia already moved to reduce its exemption from $5.67 million in 2020 to $4 million for individuals who die on or after Jan. 1, 2021. […]

“Gray divorce issues include weaving through the complications of splitting pensions, 401(k)s and more before the process is complete.” Divorce is different for older couples. They must focus on retirement accounts instead of college savings plans, explains a recent article from Kiplinger titled “Considering Divorce? Beware of Retirement Account Breakups“. After retirement accounts, the marital […]

“If you don’t also fund it, unexpected things can happen and some of those things may not reflect the intent to the grantor.” Thinking you have divided assets equally between children by creating a trust that names all as equal heirs while placing only one child’s name on other assets is not an equally divided […]

“As if losing a loved one weren’t hard enough, you might also have to add ‘death tax’ on the property that you receive from the estate—depending on where you live—in addition to all the other costs of death.” Let’s start with defining “inheritance tax.” The answer depends on the laws of each state, so you’ll […]

“What happens to all your digital accounts, services and property after you die? The official name for all these is a Digital Estate Plan. With the lines increasingly blurred between our on-and off-line lives, it’s more important than ever to have a plan for your digital holdings.” Just as you organize your physical possessions and […]