Category: Elder Law
Men and women who find themselves suddenly single in midlife need to plan carefully and make thoughtful decisions about such things as how to divide up assets and the best ways to handle the money they’ll receive. Divorce is messy. Period. This is especially true when your retirement or your estate are up for grabs. […]
Use this versatile account to get tax-free income and a whole lot more. If you are used to a traditional IRA, the Roth IRA may seem peculiar at first when it comes to retirement accounts. So here’s a brief refresher on all the perks of the esteemed Roth IRA. A recent Kiplinger’s article, titled “Why […]
Should it be maintained for close relatives? Will the next generation use it together or separately? Is it the site of family reunions? If not, will it be available to friends or even renters? Few places prove to be so powerfully uniting for a family as the family vacation home. Cabins, beach houses, you name […]
“Fighting over personal property is the match to the tinderbox of emotions,” says McManus. “Sometimes feuds start because of lingering resentments over who worked the hardest to take care of Mom or Dad when they were sick or even over who got the biggest scoop of mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving every year.” Inheritance is a […]
These days, patients are often transferred from a hospital to a nursing home to recover. But, then, some never leave. “The only thing I worried about was not getting out,” Holmes says now. She kept asking her husband and one daughter: “‘You’re not going to keep me here are you?’” Your elderly loved ones may […]
This type of trust allows a person to still live in a home for the term of the trust, deduct mortgage interest and real estate taxes, and then when the term of the trust expires, the home passes to the heirs and out of the owner’s estate. The owners can retain the right to live […]
Clients with swiftly appreciating assets can transfer these assets and escape both gift and estate taxation on almost all of the appreciation using a combination GRAT-life insurance strategy in connection with the steep gift tax valuation discount available today. Despite this, the Administration has often threatened to eliminate the tax benefits that can be realized […]
When you inherit property, such as a house or stocks, the property is usually worth more than it was when the original owner purchased it. If you were to sell the property, there could be huge capital gains taxes. Fortunately, when you inherit property, the property’s tax basis is “stepped up,” which means the basis […]
“It’s not that these accounts can’t or shouldn’t be used, it’s just they have to be coordinated carefully with the rest of the plan,” says Patrick Lannon, an estate lawyer with Bilzin Sumberg in Miami, Fla. “If there is more than one child and you make a paid on death account in favor of just […]
It is indeed possible for a charitable gift annuity, a charitable remainder unitrust, a charitable remainder annuity trust, a life estate agreement or a pooled income fund to be converted into a current gift. Have you considered expanding your generosity through a unique kind of charitable gift that is structured to actually “give back”? Examples […]
