“Wills and trusts, instead of designating a specific person to inherit, often name a group or class of people such as your ‘children,’ ‘issue’ or your ‘descendants.’” Not using specific names and terms open to definition could significantly impact who might inherit from your estate or trust. There are situations where some people may choose to deliberately restrict or expand the definition of the group, which might be included in these definitions, explains the article “Who Is Your Descendant: Intentional Limitations Or Broadening Of Definitions In Your Will Or Trust” from Forbes. For some pe ..read more

“There are better—and often more creative—ways to plan and divide that can avoid family squabbles over cars, jewelry, furniture and household items.” Family feuds are more likely over Aunt Josephine’s jewelry than the family home. Putting sticky notes on personal items before you die or expecting heirs to figure things out after you’ve passed often leads to ugly and expensive disputes, says a recent article from The Wall Street Journal, “Pass On Your Heirlooms, Not Family Drama.” Boomers handling parents’ estates and assessing their personal property are having more conversations around inher ..read more

“Before the original SECURE Act, IRA owners who died were able to leave their accounts to their children, grandkids, or other non-spouse individual beneficiaries, and heirs could stretch required minimum distributions (RMDs) over their own lifetimes, thus allowing the funds in the accounts to grow tax-free for decades.” Before December 2019, when the SECURE Act became law, inherited IRAs were powerful means of passing along wealth. However, Congress saw this as a loophole and ended it with the 10-year clean-out rule. IRA rules are more complicated now, according to the article from Kiplinger ..read more

“Many people will suffer cognitive decline as they age, and that can seriously impact their ability to manage their assets.” At some point, it becomes necessary for aging people to hand over control of their finances. One aspect of estate planning is naming an agent or fiduciary who can take control of finances if you become incapacitated or experience significant cognitive decline, explains the article “Don’t Forget to Build This Into Your Retirement and Estate Plans” from yahoo! finance. A financial agent makes financial decisions with you or on your behalf. The exact nature depends upon yo ..read more

“Death is inevitable, but dying without an estate plan is not. Estate planning is a must for property owners, no matter how uncomfortable the subject might make you.” It is not difficult to ensure the smooth transfer of ownership of your property to a spouse, children, or other heirs, as long as you have an estate plan created by an experienced estate planning attorney and know what pitfalls to avoid. Most importantly, says the article “I’m a Financial Planner: Here Are 5 Mistakes You Must Avoid When Transferring Property to Heirs” from GoBankingRates, if you die without a will, your state’s ..read more

Sometimes it might take an IDGT, or intentionally defective grantor trust, to preserve generational wealth. But how does that work?” Most parents want their children to inherit as much wealth as possible, which drives their focus to shield heirs from unnecessary taxes when they inherit. As of this writing, federal gift and estate tax laws are very friendly for building generational wealth, says a recent article from Kiplinger, “One Way to Secure Your Child’s Inheritance in an Uncertain Tax Future.” However, this is temporary, as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will expire in 2025. When it does, gif ..read more

“An estate plan can give you peace of mind that things you value will be distributed according to your wishes when you die.” Estate planning goals include designating who will receive your property when you die and who will be in charge of your personal, legal, and medical affairs if you become incapacitated. A well-constructed estate plan ensures that heirs receive assets, while managing and minimizing estate taxes, gift taxes and other taxes. Preparing information for meeting with an experienced estate planning attorney will be easier if you break out the tasks into these seven steps, expla ..read more

“If you’re divorced, you might still be eligible to claim Social Security on your former spouse’s record. It’s important to know the rules, so you wind up with the benefits you deserve.” Social Security is a lifeline for millions of retirees. Those benefits are helpful even to those with a retirement nest egg, especially if it’s not as large as they would like. A recent article from The Motley Fool, “Divorced? Don’t Make This Social Security Mistake,” says most people know that if they’ve worked and paid into Social Security throughout their working life, they generally are entitled to a mont ..read more

“When you fail to plan for your death, your heirs may end up fighting.” Aretha Franklin may have done the right thing in writing down her wishes.  However, she made a costly mistake resulting in an expensive estate battle over a multimillion-dollar estate, says a recent article from The Washington Post, “Aretha Franklin’s will was in her couch. Here’s where to keep yours.” Three of her sons battled in court over handwritten wills, one of which was found under her couch cushions. Another was found in a locked cabinet. Her family was put into a pricey, heart-breaking and public battle by f ..read more

“How should you include digital assets in your estate plans? What do your heirs need to know about inheriting these assets?” A recent survey found that almost 90% of all crypto owners are concerned about what will happen to their crypto assets when they die. Awareness is a good thing. However, this doesn’t always mean that they have taken steps to include digital assets in their estate plans. A recent article from Forbes, “Your Financial Legacy When You Own Cryptocurrency” provides some answers about estate planning for cryptocurrency. The IRS treats cryptocurrency like artwork: it’s personal ..read more