Your will is an essential tool in making sure that your property goes to the people you want to receive it after your death. By keeping these simple facts in mind, you can use this tool more effectively and avoid the mistakes that can cause huge problems down the road. Think you know everything about […]

Financial planners are not just for rich people. Everyone, no matter where you stand financially, can benefit from the advice and guidance of a qualified financial planner. You have probably received a lot of free financial advice over the years from friends, family and coworkers. But how do you know which advice to follow? It […]

In some cases, outdated or inadequate estate plans have led to highly-publicized disputes between heirs that have squandered fortunes and diminished legacies. These situations are more tragic because they are usually entirely avoidable, especially when advisors are willing to facilitate difficult conversations. An estate plan is no “one and done” project. In fact, it’s very […]

[Glen Campbell’s wife] Kim Campbell told The Associated Press in an email Thursday that the 78-year-old’s Alzheimer’s disease has progressed to the point that he needs access to medical care 24 hours a day. When Alzheimer’s strikes, the decision of how to care for a loved one can be increasingly challenging as the disease progresses. […]

Ordinarily, the deadline for taking this so-called required minimum distribution is Dec. 31. But for your first such distribution you get until April 1 of the year following the year you turn 70½ to make the withdrawal. Do you know when you can withdraw from your IRA? According to the tax law, from age 59½ […]

This valuable estate-planning tool can help your beneficiaries make the most out of their inheritance but many investors do not know about these stretch provisions. This leaves retirees with the important question: Should they force their beneficiaries to stretch the inherited IRA? What is a “stretch IRA” strategy? A recent Forbes article titled “Should I […]

While minimizing taxes is certainly not the only, nor even the primary, objective of trusts, it is a major issue for trustees with a fiduciary responsibility. The variety of trusts and the rules surrounding them are many and can be complex. A recent CNBC.com article, titled “Estate planners shift gears in new tax environment,“ explains […]

Bill and Hillary Clinton are making headlines for their use of the qualified personal residence trust or QPRT — lovingly pronounced “kew-pert” by tax geeks — to save on estate and gift taxes. According to Bloomberg News, the Clintons drafted two (Qualified Personal Residence Trusts) QPRTs in 2010, divided the ownership of their Chappaqua, N.Y. home into […]

All sorts of things can change over the course of our lives—and some of those changes may affect existing estate plans. Experts recommend that you review your estate plan every few years to confirm whether it needs updating. Things change over time. New tax laws, more grandchildren, an aging estate executor … the list goes […]

New studies are providing more current cost estimates. “What we found was shocking,” Mandell said. “This is a huge hit on families.” The costs to care for a child with special needs is on the rise, as reported in a new study in the medical journal JAMA Pediatric. The study found that the total lifetime […]