Estate Plans and Trusts Discussed

We all know that we need to have our lives in order in the event of our demise because our families are so important to us. As the Death Tax slowing dies over the next many years, it behooves all of us to have estate plans and trusts set up to shield our assets from legal liabilities which can pop-up out of nowhere and also to pay the least amount of taxes to the government after we die.

Write Before You Cannot Speak!

Design appears everywhere. From spider web to bridge spans, structure supports purpose. Trees have it, bees live it, and the earth orbits around it. Designs in nature inspire some while others procra...

Private Annuity Trust, Charitable Remainder Trust or 1031-TIC: Which Is Right for You?

You may have heard about Private Annuity Trusts, Charitable Remainder Trusts and 1031 Tenant in Common Exchanges, but how do you decide if one is right for you? There are several things you should think about when trying to choose between these three options:

How Can An Estate Plan Help Me?

Do you know how your life will be divided after your death? Who will your estate go to? Who will look after your children? With an estate plan you decide. You are in control of your family’s security in the event that something tragic should happen.

Ira Trusts: What's All The Hype About

A recent new development in estate planning is helping thousands of affluent people across the country with IRAs over 100,000 transcend estate tax and income tax. It keeps your beneficiaries from blowing all of the money you’ve worked so hard for.

Durable Powers of Attorney

One of our greatest frustrations as elder law attorneys is not being able to help families implement strategies that would qualify their loved one for Medicaid and protect family assets because a power of attorney is insufficient to allow us to do what we need to do. Therefore, we thought it would be beneficial to address durable powers of attorney in this issue.

Planning Ahead For Your Senior Years

When the diagnosis is Alzheimer's disease, the ability to manage your own affairs will decrease over time. Making adequate, informed decisions about your personal business and your health will become more difficult. But, early legal planning lets you choose a person to manage these things for you, according to your wishes.

Getting the Right Inheritance - Estate Planning Through a Family Limited Partnership

A Family Limited Partnership (FLP) is a powerful tool that you can use in estate planning. An FLP can protect you from outlandish lawsuits, liability claims that are false in nature and general litigation that is not your fault. You can establish an estate plan through a Family Limited Partnership and thereby get around inheritance taxes.

Financial & Estate Planning For the Dual Income Family

In today's world, it is more common than ever to find dual income households. Recent estimates by the Department of Labor find that women comprise around 47 percent of the American workforce. Compare this percentage to 1960 accounts estimating women in the workplace at around 33 percent. Because of the proliferation of working women, special planning is necessary to properly address the issues faced by households where both spouses work.

Selecting Trustees and Executors - Some Considerations and Ideas

Selecting an executor or trustee is often the last consideration when preparing an estate plan. When planning out a will or trust, it seems so much more important and interesting to decide how the property is to be given away! Oftentimes, the issue of who takes the reins as the executor or trustee takes a back seat to these other issues. But little is more important.

Medicaid and the Living Trust

Living Trusts are widely advertised in seminars on estate planning. But can they be used if you may have to apply for Medicaid? This article discusses some of the pitfalls.

Medicaid Estate Planning: Maximize Your Results

Medicaid Estate Planning: The 5-year look-back provisions where seniors must sell all assets 5 years before entering a nursing home. What can be gifted for Medicaid asset protection.

Why a Will is Not Enough to Save Anna Nicole Smith's Baby Daughter?

The assignment of choosing a guardian for your minor children is the most important aspect of having a will. A will also assigns an executor. A will doesn't protect your assets nor avoid the probate. A trust - revocable or irrevocable - needs to be considered. What's the distinction between a revocable trust and irrevocable trust?

Why Offshore Asset Protection (Aka Foreign Asset Protection) Is Good?

Discusses why offshore asset protection (aka Foreign Asset Protection) is a legitimate business necessity. 1040 income tax return, schedule B line 7a: did you have authority over financial account in a foreign country. 1040 form, schedule B, question 8 regarding Foreign Asset Protection Trust. Other articles describe more opportunities for offshore asset protection strategies.