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“It is also important to realize that it isn’t merely ‘why’ you are updating your will, but ‘when’ you are updating that can make all the difference.” Estate planning lawyers hear it all the time—people meaning to update their will, but somehow never getting around to actually getting it done. The only group larger than […]
“Unfortunately, over a decade, the number of observation stays has increased exponentially and is being used even when patients have a diagnosis and have been admitted by their own physicians.” There’s a troubling quirk in the Medicare system that occurs when older patients are hospitalized and instead of being officially admitted, they are placed on […]
“Take, for example, the sad and sordid tax case of Mary Ellen Cranmer Nice vs. United States of America, which would not have existed if an attentive financial advisor hadn’t noticed the large IRA distributions that were allegedly stolen right from under a matriarch’s nose.” The case of Nice vs. U.S. is a dramatic example […]
“There have been several law changes that affect IRAs passed since December 2019.” The SECURE Act made a number of changes to IRAs, effective January 1, 2020. It was followed by the CARES Act, effective March 27, 2020, which brought even more changes. A recent article from the Milwaukee Business Journal, titled “IRA planning tips […]
“Without a proper elder law estate plan, the children’s responsibilities are even more exhausting, stressful and sad.” It is the adult children who oversee aging parents when they need long-term care. They are also the ones who settle estates when parents die. Even if they can’t always come out and tell you, the recent article, […]
“When a loved one dies, any leftover IRA funds they had goes to whomever they labeled as beneficiaries. If you’re a beneficiary, you have to decide how you’re going to use it—a decision that’s a little more complicated this year than it normally is.” Many people are looking at their inherited IRAs this year, when […]
“Estate planning strategies such as family limited partnerships and gifts to charitable trusts are part of an estate planning professional’s toolbox to achieve client goals, such as minimizing taxes, effectuating philanthropic plans, teaching younger generations about a family business and passing on wealth.” In the best-case scenario, you’d start talking with your estate planning attorney […]
“The world exists just as much online, as it does offline. Failing to recognize that when planning for the end of life can lead to unexpected repercussions for survivors.” There’s never an easy time to talk about end-of-life planning, and a pandemic that has everyone thinking about death can make it harder, says the article […]
“Whether you’re planning ahead for your own heirs or have been asked to serve as executor for someone else, it pays to understand what the role requires.” The job of the executor is an important one. The executor has a fiduciary responsibility to manage the assets and debts of the decedent and carry out instructions […]
“If there’s a family member or a friend in your life who refuses to do their will and get their estate in order, here are some tips to finally get them to take action.” This is a tough scenario. It happens more often than you’d think. Someone owns a home, investment accounts and an inheritance, […]
