Category: Beneficiary
“We are programmed to contribute the “max” to our retirement accounts and we disregard, or do not understand, the pitfalls of an improperly filled-out beneficiary forms.” Ignore beneficiary forms at your and your heirs’ own peril, especially when there are minor children involved, is the message from TAPintoChatham.com’s recent article “Are You Read to Deal […]
“For couples over 50, living together has a lot of appeal and is on the rise. In fact, the number of unmarried couples who are 50+ shot up 75% between 2007 and 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.” One reason for the popularity of living together without marriage is that many in this generation […]
“Talking about illness, death and taxes is not most people’s idea of a good time (except for us estate planners). That being said, there are times in life when it’s time to move updating your estate plan off the ‘to do’ list and on to the ‘done’ list. Here are those times:” Every estate planning […]
“Your will may be the most important document you’ll ever write. The problem is, after many of us draft one, we put it somewhere for safekeeping and don’t look at it again. That can be a big mistake.” Lives change, and laws change. People come and go in our lives, through birth, death, marriage and […]
“Sometimes the persons involved either die simultaneously, i.e., too close in time to determine clearly who survived the other or die very close in time to each other.” There are any number of ways a person can inherit assets from another person. They may inherit assets from a trust, through a will or as a […]
There are pros and cons to trusts and it is wise to know about them. Revocable trust and irrevocable trusts are excellent tools to be used in estate planning and the key is knowing when and how to use them, according to kake.com in “How an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT) Works“. Revocable trusts tend […]
The stretch IRA may disappear into the past. The House recently passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, known as the Secure Act, and it’s widely expected to pass the Senate. While its name sounds like it’s looking to help Americans with retirement, it is possible the bill will reduce the value […]
No will or trust? The estate is most likely going to probate court. Transfer on death accounts can avoid some assets from going through probate. However, it is important to know that the laws governing TODs vary from state to state, according to Yahoo! Finance in “Transfer on Death (TOD) Accounts for Estate Planning“. Here’s […]
You really should plan for the future, even if it means taking your own death into consideration. People do not generally like to consider their own passing so they often avoid estate planning. However, it really can be considered as a message to the future, as well as thoughtful consideration of your family, according to […]
If you receive an inheritance, it is wise to consider the impact. There are many things that can be inherited and one must be careful of the impact on a family’s tax liability, according to the Orange Town News in “Will I Pay Taxes on My Inheritance“. Here is a partial list of different assets […]
