One big advantage of the trusteed IRAs: IRA owners can prevent their beneficiaries from spending down the accounts right away. An IRA is a very powerful tool, if you use it right. Your IRA can essentially serve estate planning purposes beyond simple retirement funding in the form of a “trusteed IRA.” A good place to […]

While your goal might be to attract the most qualified buyer that will pay the asking price and lead the company on a path of continued success, it is what you expect of your life post-sale that should constitute how you execute the deal. Done right, a business succession or sale requires the ability to […]

If your beneficiaries are out-of-date, when you die, your assets could go [to] the wrong people – a former spouse, for example – no matter what your will says. Often, the biggest mistakes we can make when it comes to our estate planning are also some of the easiest to prevent. For example, the consequences […]

What would happen to your e-mail accounts if you suddenly died? Are familiar with the notion of a digital estate? What happens to your online bank accounts, emails, social media and your entire digital presence on the web when you pass away? Imagine a world without you in which your heirs cannot access your digital […]

You can stuff a lot of money into a 529 college savings plan now and then do the same thing at the beginning of 2014 – a strategy that advisers say they are seeing many wealthy clients adopt this year. Funding a 529 College Savings Plan before year-end is a great gifting strategy your college-bound […]

As the year comes to a close, it is time to consider how we show our generosity, so we can allocate our resources deliberately and effectively. There is still time to give those charitable gifts for 2013! And there are countless worthy causes to choose from.  So the question is: do the charities you select […]

Here are the must-do estate-plan tasks you should get done now. What’s on your list of New Year’s resolutions? Yes, it’s that time of year yet again. In addition to the normal list of diet, exercise and the sort — did “estate planning” make the list for 2014? We all know that an estate plan […]

“You cannot predict what may happen between now and receiving an inheritance,” said Ireland. “The earlier you start preparing, the more financially secure your own retirement is likely to be.” Planning for an inheritance can be a tricky endeavor, for both givers and receivers. On one side, the giver has to make appropriate arrangements for […]

Some wealthy people are taking another look at survivorship insurance. The relatively obscure product, also known as “second-to die” insurance, insures two lives, usually spouses, with one policy.Like its name indicates, the product pays out the benefit after the death of the second insured. Where there is a risk and an attending financial exposure you […]

To ensure your exit goals are met and your family relationships remain intact, it’s important to clarify the family succession process right from the start. When you are a family business owner looking to pass the torch, the business is typically your greatest asset and likely the center of the family’s wellbeing. You cannot afford […]