Rivers would have probably gotten a kick out of the fact that the expenses associated with her funeral are tax deductible for federal estate tax purposes – though as a smart business woman, I suspect she already knew that. Are funeral expenses tax deductible? I wonder if the late Joan Rivers had this in mind […]

This legislation would exempt more than 99.7 percent of Americans from paying any estate tax while ensuring that the wealthiest Americans in our country pay their fair share. Is there another estate tax change around the corner? It’s hard to say what the future holds, but one politician is proposing an estate tax increase. Most […]

Having a say in your own mental healthcare may be very important to you. But what if someday you’re unable to make decisions about your treatment? A psychiatric advance directive (PAD) is a document written while you’re mentally healthy that can speak for you if you become incapacitated by mental illness. Almost everyone who has […]

Helping out family members is to be encouraged, but can raise a number of legal issues involving taxes and eligibility for public benefits, as well as questions of fairness among family members. Here are six issues grandparents should consider before making gifts to family members. Are you planning a gift to your grandchildren? Grandparents normally […]

The information family and friends will need when a loved one dies goes far beyond those much-talked-about documents, and having them can make the end of life just a little less painful for those who remain behind. Properly planning an estate requires that you think about all of the little things someone might need to […]

If you have a revocable trust or living trust, best to check out what’s in it before you, your spouse and your children get a nasty surprise. And if you don’t have one but still want one, don’t sign anything that could have come from a vending machine. Revocable Living Trusts can provide an excellent way […]

A recent case from the Supreme of Mississippi held that forfeiture provisions in wills in Mississippi are enforceable unless the will contest has been founded upon probable cause and made in good faith. If you dispute a will and lose, can you still receive your inheritance? It depends. Forfeiture clauses normally state that anyone who […]

Bacall’s loss of her husband when her children were young does point to some of the issues surviving spouses face when there is a difference of age of 20 years or more. Of course, May-December marriages don’t only happen in Hollywood, and the resources and circumstances can be very different. In recent article titled “Bogie […]

Inheriting in trust can mean a lot of different things, but usually comes with benefits that are not available otherwise. Consider establishing an estate plan so your beneficiaries can inherit in trust. You may know you want to give an inheritance to your heirs, but do you know the right way to do it? Let’s […]

The biggest mistake people make when they inherit a chunk of money is not thinking it through, said Meg Green, a certified financial planner and CEO of Meg Green and Associates in Miami. “People who don’t have means often squander the money on things they have been dying to have all these years, and then […]