The first thing you need to have is a will. Without one, your assets will be divvied up according to the laws in your state. “It isn’t necessarily what you think or want,” warns California-based financial adviser Ted George. Do you really need a will? One word: Yes! If you don’t have a will, then […]

“It used to be when someone passed away, there were all these clues — a paper trail around the house about what the deceased person owned and owed,” says Karin C. Prangley, an estate attorney at Krasnow Saunders Kaplan & Beninati in Chicago. “Now there is no more paper trail. All of that is digital. […]

A federal consumer activist, along with a professor of elder law and representatives from organizations like the State Attorney’s Office and AARP told a gathering of elder advocates in Miami on Tuesday that financial exploitation of seniors could grow worse as the country ages. Elder financial exploitation and abuse is a growing problem, and experts […]

Whoever you name as your financial power of attorney makes all of your financial decisions. By specifically picking someone to make those decisions, you help eliminate controversy and stress. Business owners rarely get substantial time off from their day-to-day duties. Running a business is a 24-7 job for most, even strategizing long after business hours […]

Think you know enough about Social Security to make the best decision about when to claim your benefits? The catch is, when the same folks took an eight question quiz about crucial Social Security rules, just 5% got all the answers right. Did you know that only about a quarter of workers age 55 and older are […]

Several experts said that the ways that families handle these situations depends on multiple factors, such as what caused the disparity, how strong the sibling relationships are, whether the parents have money and more. When planning for your estate, you often look at the financial stability of your children. Who is better off financially? Do […]

Keep an eye on the Obama Administration budget proposals as there are several provisions which may affect estate planning.  For example, there is a provision which would reduce the $5 Million federal estate tax exemption to $3.5 Million – the 2009 level.  Stay tuned! http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/tax-policy/Documents/General-Explanations-FY2015.pdf

Although the AMT’s original intent was to ensure the wealthiest earners paid some tax, it now ensnares a large number of taxpayers because the income threshold use for calculating the AMT hasn’t kept pace with the growth of income reported by taxpayers. Talking about taxes isn’t exactly glamorous stuff. Discussions about the alternative minimum tax […]

While dynasty trusts may at first glance seem complex, they are an excellent mechanism to create structure around the family legacy and fortune and potentially avoid the familiar proverb of a wealthy family going from “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.” Ready for a history lesson on using trusts to pass on wealth? Long ago […]

A careful review of the return can point the way to opportunities for decreasing your taxes and increasing after-tax wealth. “Those that ignore history are bound to repeat it.” Translation: learn from mistakes made in the past and avoid repeating them. In other words, you should review what didn’t work in order to guide yourself […]