Why an Estate “Directory” Can Help Your Family
Once your estate plan is done, or reviewed, if several years have elapsed since it was created, the next document you should create is an Estate Directory. Families are vulnerable when a loved one dies. It can be difficult to make decisions, old family tensions may resurface and sibling rivalries erupt into no-holds-barred battles. The…
Read MoreIs a Trust Right for Your Estate Plan, and What Kind of Trust is Best?
Wealthy people are not the only ones who use trusts in their estate planning. They also serve many different purposes for “regular” people. Here’s something that most people don’t know: if you listed your spouse or a child as a beneficiary on a bank account, from a technical standpoint, you have created a simple trust.…
Read MoreHere’s What You Need to Know about Roth IRAs
Self-proclaimed experts can make your head spin with their bragging about how great their investments and retirement accounts are. There’s one in every crowd! You may encounter them at work or at family gatherings. These are people who insist on telling you how smart they are about avoiding taxes through retirement accounts. But before you…
Read MoreActor’s Mistake in Estate Plan Is Costly
Philip Seymour Hoffman’s mistakes cost at least $12 million in estate taxes. Some estate planning mistakes made by the late actor Philip Seymour Hoffman turned out to be costly. His estate planning mistakes were not marrying the mother of his three children and not working with an estate planning attorney, according to a Kiplinger in…
Read MoreHow Estate Planning and Business Exit Planning Work Together
Sometimes it’s easier to wrap your head around the idea of selling a business, when you see how the exit plan for a business must, by necessity, be a part of estate planning. This often helps owners more fully understand the process and move forward. As described in Wilmington Insights’ article, “Which Comes First –…
Read MoreWhether You Are 18 or 81, Why You Need a Will
Having a will gives you a voice in what happens to your possessions, and estate planning documents give directions to others about your wishes in the case of incapacity. Many people think that they only need a will if they have a lot of assets, but that’s just not true. Anyone who is older than…
Read MoreA Smart Retirement Plan Includes Life and Disability Insurance
“Will your beneficiaries receive death benefits free of the federal estate tax?” Your long-term personal financial plan should include sufficient life and disability insurance as a key planning element. With the proper balance and advance planning, you can collect life and disability insurance proceeds free of federal taxes. MarketWatch’s recent article, “How to avoid the…
Read MoreIncome Planning During Retirement
Retirement may bring an end to your work life, but your responsibilities just change gears. You have to learn how to navigate Medicare and manage an investment portfolio. People who may have been happy to let their investment company handle their retirement savings face big decisions in retirement, including how much risk they are willing…
Read MoreHow Do Those Assets Get into the Trust?
If you don’t get the assets into the trust, you end up with an “unfunded” trust. If an “unfunded” trust ends up being created because assets were not transferred, there are a number of things that can happen when the trust settlor passes away, according to the NWI Times in “Estate Planning: Unfunded Trust.” If…
Read MoreGive Your Charitable Giving More Impact
Americans are truly generous, supporting causes and organizations and giving in the form of money, time and taking leadership roles. Charity Navigator reports that about 2% of the U.S. gross domestic product—approximately $400 billion—was donated by philanthropically-minded Americans to non-profits last year. Some give checks, others volunteer in programs or as leaders, while others are…
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