Everyone is aware of the need for retirement planning, and you can enjoy your golden years to the fullest if you take the right steps to build a sufficient financial underpinning. You can spend quality time with your family and friends, travel, enjoy leisure activities, and simply cross things off your bucket list. This can be one of the best periods of your life, but you should also consider the twilight years that will follow. When you reach the age of 67, your life expectancy is at … [Read more...] about Nursing Home Costs Can Erase Your Legacy
Estate Taxes Can Erode Your Legacy
If you have been very successful from a financial standpoint, you have to be concerned about the potential impact of estate taxes. Many people contend that the death tax is not fair, because your estate is comprised of resources that you have been able to retain after paying innumerable taxes throughout your life. Why should your death be a taxable event in and of itself? This a good question, but whether it is fair or not, the federal estate tax is a fact of life. The good news is that … [Read more...] about Estate Taxes Can Erode Your Legacy
When Would You Use an Irrevocable Trust?
The type of trust that is most commonly used is the revocable living trust. Many people are comforted by the idea that it is possible to change your mind and dissolve the trust at some point in the future. Plus, if you create this type of trust, you have control even while you are alive and well. As the grantor of the trust, you could serve as the trustee and the beneficiary at first. In the trust declaration, you would name successors to assume these roles after you are gone. You can change … [Read more...] about When Would You Use an Irrevocable Trust?
Fraud Case Has Elder Law/Estate Planning Implications
Sometimes a glaring real life example can get your attention more than any advice that you can be given by a professional. This can enter into the realm of estate planning and elder law from time to time, and there has been a news story circulating recently that fits the bill. In August of 2018, a successful business person from Tampa, Florida named Richard Rappaport got married to Lin Helena Halfon. On the surface, there is nothing to see here, but it gets more interesting when you learn … [Read more...] about Fraud Case Has Elder Law/Estate Planning Implications
Estate Tax Exclusion Adjusted for Inflation
Overall, the tax laws that apply to inheritance distributions are favorable to American families. You are not required to report an inheritance as taxable income, and this would include life insurance proceeds. Plus, if you inherit assets that appreciated during the life of the decedent, you do not have to pay capital gains taxes on the appreciation. On the other side of the coin, if you have been very successful from a financial standpoint, you have to be concerned about a significant level … [Read more...] about Estate Tax Exclusion Adjusted for Inflation
Is a Bequest to Your Spouse Taxable?
In this post, we are going to examine the unlimited estate tax marital deduction. However, before we get into this specific area, we should provide a broad overview of the federal estate tax itself. The federal estate tax is imposed on wealth that is being transferred that exceeds a particular amount. This threshold is called the estate tax exclusion. The amount of the exclusion has varied significantly over the years, so the current numbers we are going to share are subject to change. In … [Read more...] about Is a Bequest to Your Spouse Taxable?
Probate 101
Estate planning is something that most people are not particularly anxious to think about. But at the same time, as they say, no one here gets out alive. Going through life without making any preparations for something that is definitely going to take place really doesn’t make a lot of sense. If you do decide to put the wheels in motion and begin to look into the process of estate planning, you will hear about something called probate. When you use a last will to express your final wishes, … [Read more...] about Probate 101
Estate Planning Solution for a Spendthrift Heir
A lot of people are under the impression that a last will is the most simple and efficient estate planning tool. They assume that trusts are only useful for very wealthy individuals that have complex inheritance planning concerns. In reality, the administration of a will is actually quite complicated, and there is a type of trust that can benefit people that are not among the financial elite. When it comes to the complications, the process of probate is the culprit. If you were to create a … [Read more...] about Estate Planning Solution for a Spendthrift Heir
Genworth Unveils 2019 Long-Term Care Costs
When you are looking ahead toward your retirement years, you may focus on the initial stage, when all the fruits of your labor can be harvested. You can enjoy leisure activities, spend time with family members and friends, and cross things off your bucket list. This stage of your life can certainly be very special, but it is also important to consider the twilight years that will follow. The Next Plateau As time goes on and the years pass, you may start to feel a lot less energetic than you … [Read more...] about Genworth Unveils 2019 Long-Term Care Costs
Can a Trust Be Changed?
People that do not have a strong understanding of the subject often assume that trusts are to be avoided, because you make permanent decisions that you could never change when you establish a trust. What if you convey assets into a trust and you need the money later on for one reason or another? This sense of trepidation is understandable, but you do not necessarily surrender control of assets that you place into a trust. There are irrevocable trusts that cannot be dissolved or rescinded, and … [Read more...] about Can a Trust Be Changed?
