Before he died in 2010, at the age of 90, Albert made out a will – with a clause. Which brings us back to the Ravenholt family reunion. To receive their share of Albert’s wealth, his nieces and nephews are required to attend… Just as in life, the greatest gift is truly made in values […]

Medicare’s open enrollment season begins Tuesday October 15. Making the right choices might save you, or your parents, hundreds or thousands of dollars. Medicare open enrollment period began as of October 15, and beneficiaries have until December 7 to find the right plan and sign up. Since this year is no typical enrollment period, make […]

Sudden wealth can be a life-changing experience that can improve your life and the lives of those around you, but only if you keep it. Those with more assets are bigger targets for lawsuits. Don’t let your sudden wealth suddenly get stripped from you. Protect your assets before you get the windfall and you will […]

The death of a Medicaid recipient’s spouse can affect the amount of assets the Medicaid recipient has, and therefore his Medicaid eligibility. Scenario: One spouse, the institutional spouse, is in a nursing home and is qualified to receive Medicaid benefits to pay for their care. The other spouse, the community spouse, remains at home. Typically, […]

There are three main strategies business owners can (and should) use in order to maximize the amount of money they put in their pockets when they sell their companies. Your business is your livelihood. It may also be your family’s source of revenue. So if you are planning to sell the business, you will want […]

Even people who think they’ve ticked off all of the usual boxes on their estate-planning to-do lists may have overlooked an increasingly important component of the process: ensuring the proper management and orderly transfer of their digital assets after they die or become disabled. Beyond the tangible assets in your life that you feel should […]

Whenever a U.S. taxpayer dies or gives away valuable art—or any time it changes hands other than through a sale—Uncle Sam has an interest in knowing its true value. The art panel protects that interest, by vetting values submitted by taxpayers or executors; in other words, they make sure the deduction for the donation of […]

Cultivating a family legacy is not that different from tending a garden: land with poor prospects, at first glance, has to be coaxed over time –patiently and carefully–until it has a fertile life of its own. Case in point: The Morris family of Pennsylvania, which nursed its garden into an arboretum, an estate that lives […]

“My husband and I own a law firm, and part of the appeal of our law firm is us,” said Kelly Phillips Erb, a lawyer outside Philadelphia who has blogged on the tax matters related to the Jackson estate. “If we’re not around the next day, the value of the firm isn’t worth as much. […]

Many trusts were set up over the years to help protect wealth from estate taxes. But the federal estate-tax exemption has risen steadily in recent years, to $5.25 million, or $10.5 million for couples, from $1 million in 2003. This year, Congress made the exemption permanent and indexed it to inflation. As a result, fewer […]