Category: Trusts
There are new tax laws in the country. However, there is still time to make necessary adjustments. If you have not already reviewed your estate plan and taken the new tax laws into consideration, now is the time to do so, according to Reuter’s article “Your estate plan needs an update even if it is […]
Deductions for state and local taxes face a new limit. One of the more controversial changes in the new tax laws passed in late December was that the itemized deduction for state and local taxes is now limited to $10,000. Some state governments have tried to figure out a way around the limit for their […]
Planned giving is one way to leave a good legacy. Assets are often the first thought about estate planning. However, that does not mean your other values have to be left out of your estate plan completely. You can use your estate plan for planned charitable giving, according to the Nashua Telegraph in “Planning to […]
Joint ownership means you don’t have to go through probate. However, the risks are high—very high. A parent will sometimes decide to add a child to the deed to their home and that means an equal share. It also means that if the child has creditors, they can seek to make claims against the home. However, that […]
Some parents want to give everything to their children right now … but wait! Unless you have an estate plan, before your children can inherit the estate it must to go through the probate process. That can be both expensive and time-consuming. Therefore, many parents decide to give their children everything now. However, it might […]
Flexibility can lead to the creation of a better legacy than anticipated. When people go to an estate planning attorney, they sometimes already have a good idea regarding what they want to accomplish with their estate plans. That is often a good thing. If a person is flexible and willing to consider options, it is […]
Myths are spread from person to person and by the Internet. Correcting the myths isn’t an easy task. The world of the will and the trust has created some basic estate planning myths through the years. However, they can be corrected, according to TC Palm in “Common misconceptions about wills and trusts.” These myths include: […]
Individual circumstances determine the best type of trust for you. Much of the confusion over trusts is a result of some impressive sounding names that do not actually describe what the trust accomplishes. Therefore, deciding on which type of trust is the best one by name is not the right way to think about trusts. […]
Some estate battles are predictable and quite costly to both finances and family. If the main instrument used to distribute an estate is a will that has to go through probate, the legal issues can often lead to huge battles that could be avoided by using a trust, according to the Times Herald-Record in “Trusts […]
A trust is a good estate planning tool. However, it is not necessarily for everyone and every plan. Despite extensive advertising by non-attorneys selling trusts, the real fact is that not everyone needs one. If they do need a trust, there are many important decisions that need to be made to avoid a disaster. There […]
