Posted On: JULY 2025
For many people, creating an estate plan falls into the category of important but not urgent. As a result, it can get postponed indefinitely. If you find yourself in this situation, understanding the reasons behind this procrastination can help you recognize and overcome the barriers that are preventing you from taking the first steps toward creating an estate plan.
Learn MorePosted On: JULY 2025
When planning your estate, one of the smartest strategies you can adopt is to minimize or avoid probate. Probate is a legal procedure in which a court establishes the validity of your will, determines the value of your estate, resolves creditors’ claims, provides for the payment of taxes and other debts, and transfers assets to your heirs.
Learn MorePosted On: JUNE 2025
As a closely held business owner, a substantial amount of your wealth likely is tied to the business. Of course, you want to retain as much of that wealth as possible to pass on to your family after you exit the business. If your business is structured as a corporation, the answer may be an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). It can enhance tax efficiency, support business succession goals and help preserve wealth for future generations.
Learn MorePosted On: JUNE 2025
There are specific estate planning strategies that, on the surface, may sound appealing. This includes owning property jointly with a child or other family member. However, these techniques can result in unwelcome outcomes that outweigh potential benefits.
Learn MorePosted On: JUNE 2025
A comprehensive estate plan has many objectives. They include ensuring your assets are passed on to your loved ones according to your wishes while minimizing gift and estate taxes. Another equally important objective is to communicate your preferences in advance for medical care in the event you’re incapacitated and can’t express your wishes. To that end, including advance health care directives in your estate plan is critical.
Learn MorePosted On: JUNE 2025
A comprehensive estate plan has many objectives. They include ensuring your assets are passed on to your loved ones according to your wishes while minimizing gift and estate taxes. Another equally important objective is to communicate your preferences in advance for medical care in the event you’re incapacitated and can’t express your wishes. To that end, including advance health care directives in your estate plan is critical.
Learn MorePosted On: JUNE 2025
A family limited partnership (FLP) is an estate planning tool withvarious benefits. These include centralized management of family assets, the ability to transfer wealth without ceding control, reduced gift and estate taxes, income tax savings, and asset protection. Let’s take a closer look at how an FLP works.
Learn MorePosted On: JUNE 2025
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) effectively doubled the unified federal gift and estate tax exemption — and annual inflation adjustments have boosted it even further. For individuals who make gifts or die in 2025, the exemption amount is $13.99 million ($27.98 million for married couples).
Learn MorePosted On: MAY 2025
Asset protection is a strategic approach to safeguarding your wealth from potential lawsuits and creditor claims. Indeed, protecting your assets is critical in today’s litigious environment. Without proper planning, a single lawsuit or debt issue could jeopardize years of financial progress. The last thing you want to happen is to lose a portion of your wealth, thus having less to pass on to your heirs, potentially jeopardizing their livelihoods.
Learn MorePosted On: MAY 2025
For many people, pets are more than just animals — they’re cherished members of the family. Yet, when it comes to estate planning, their future care can be overlooked.
Learn MorePosted On: MAY 2025
One question the family of a deceased person often asks is: What happens to debt after a person dies? It’s important to realize that a person’s debt doesn’t simply vanish after his or her death.
Learn MorePosted On: MAY 2025
When it comes to estate planning, married couples often assume that simply naming each other in their wills or designating each other as beneficiaries is sufficient. However, unintended consequences can result if you and your spouse fail to properly coordinate your estate plans.
Learn MorePosted On: MAY 2025
It’s not uncommon for an estate plan to contain multiple trusts. They can enable you to hold assets for and transfer them to beneficiaries, avoid probate, and possibly reduce estate tax exposure. When drafting a trust, you must appoint a trustee. This can be an individual or a financial institution.
Learn MorePosted On: APRIL 2025
Members of the sandwich generation — those who find themselves simultaneously caring for aging parents while supporting their own children — face unique financial and emotional pressures. One critical yet often overlooked task amid this juggling act is estate planning.
Learn MorePosted On: APRIL 2025
If you’re considering making asset transfers to your grandchildren or great grandchildren, be sure your estate plan addresses the federal generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax. This tax ensures that large estates can’t bypass a round of taxation that would normally apply if assets were transferred from parent to child, and then from child to grandchild.
Learn MorePosted On: APRIL 2025
“Decanting” an irrevocable trust allows a trustee to use his or her distribution powers to transfer assets from one trust into another with different — often more favorable — terms. Much like decanting wine to separate it from sediment, trust decanting “pours” assets into a new vessel, potentially improving clarity and control.
Learn MorePosted On: APRIL 2025
Now’s the time to review your GST tax exposure
Absent congressional action this year, the federal gift and estate exemption and the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemption (currently $13.99 million) are scheduled to return in 2026 to their pre-2018 levels of $5 million (around $7 million adjusted for inflation). This article explains that now is the time to review one’s estate plan for potential GST tax exposure given the fact that the exemption amount may drop in 2026.
Posted On: APRIL 2025
With the federal gift and estate tax exemption amount set at $13.99 million for 2025, most people won’t be liable for these taxes. However, capital gains tax on inherited assets may cause an unwelcome tax bite.
Learn MorePosted On: MARCH 2025
If you’ve given a significant financial gift to a family member, you may wonder whether you’re required to file a gift tax return. Even if no tax is due, filing Form 709, United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, can be a smart decision. Indeed, a timely filed gift tax return that meets the IRS’s adequate disclosure requirements starts the clock on the statute of limitations. This year, the deadline to file a 2024 gift tax return is April 15 (October 15 if you file for an extension).
Learn MorePosted On: MARCH 2025
If you’ve given a significant financial gift to a family member, you may wonder whether you’re required to file a gift tax return. Even if no tax is due, filing Form 709, United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, can be a smart decision. Indeed, a timely filed gift tax return that meets the IRS’s adequate disclosure requirements starts the clock on the statute of limitations. This year, the deadline to file a 2024 gift tax return is April 15 (October 15 if you file for an extension).
Learn MorePosted On: MARCH 2025
Even if you’re single and have no children, having an estate plan helps ensure your final wishes are clearly documented and respected. Estate planning isn’t solely about passing assets on to direct descendants; it’s about taking control of your future.
Learn MorePosted On: FEBRUARY 2025
Life insurance plays a vital role in your estate plan because its proceeds can provide for your family in the event of your untimely death. And for wealthier families, life insurance proceeds can cover any estate tax liability not covered by the current $13.99 million federal gift and estate tax exemption.
Learn MorePosted On: FEBRUARY 2025
A revocable trust (sometimes referred to as a “living trust”) is a popular estate planning tool that allows you to manage your assets during your lifetime and ensure a smooth transfer of those assets to your family after your death.
Learn MorePosted On: FEBRUARY 2025
Your estate plan is the perfect place to make charitable gifts if you’re a charitably inclined individual. One vehicle to consider using is a donor-advised fund (DAF).
Learn MorePosted On: FEBRUARY 2025
An inheritor’s trust is a specialized estate planning tool designed to protect and manage assets you pass to a beneficiary. One of its primary advantages is asset protection. It allows your beneficiary to receive his or her inheritance in trust rather than as an outright gift or bequest. Thus, the assets are kept out of his or her own taxable estate.
Learn MorePosted On: FEBRUARY 2025
Even with a comprehensive estate plan, it’s likely you’ll have some assets in a residuary estate. Like the sediment at the bottom of your glass after you finish a fine wine, an estate plan may also leave some residue.
Learn MorePosted On: FEBRUARY 2025
A Health Savings Account (HSA) can positively affect your estate plan. How? In addition to serving as a viable option to reduce health care costs, an HSA’s funds grow on a tax-deferred basis.In fact, an HSA is similar to a traditional IRA or 401(k) plan in that it’s a tax-advantaged savings account funded with pretax dollars.
Learn MorePosted On: FEBRUARY 2025
A financial power of attorney (POA) can be a critical component of your estate plan. It appoints a trusted representative (often called an agent) to make financial decisions on your behalf in the event you’re unable to do so.
Learn MorePosted On: FEBRUARY 2025
Interested in trying to prepare your own estate plan? There are resources available to assist you, such as online services, computer software and how-to books. Do-it-yourself (DIY) estate planning may save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars up front.
Learn MorePosted On: JANUARY 2025
Does your estate plan leave specific assets to specific family members? If so, you may want to reconsider your plan. While it may be tempting to say, leave your son your classic car and give your daughter a family heirloom, doing so risks inadvertently disinheriting other family members, even if you’ve gone out of your way to ensure that they’re treated equally.
Learn MorePosted On: JANUARY 2025
It’s not uncommon for people who live in states with high income taxes to relocate to states with more favorable tax climates. Did you know that you can use a similar strategy for certain trusts? Indeed, if a trust is subject to high state income tax, you may be able to change its residence — or “situs” — to a state with low or no income taxes.
Learn MorePosted On: JANUARY 2025
Traditional estate planning strategies generally are based on the assumption that all family members involved are U.S. citizens. However, if you or your spouse is a noncitizen, special rules apply that require additional planning.
Learn MorePosted On: JANUARY 2025
If you’re the parent of a newborn, toddler or older child, you may be thinking about naming a guardian for him or her. This can be a difficult decision, especially if you have many choices or, on the other hand, no one you can trust.
Learn MorePosted On: JANUARY 2025
An advance health care directive allows you to communicate your preferences, in advance, for medical care in the event you become incapacitated.
Learn MorePosted On: DECEMBER 2024
In many respects, estate planning for single parents is similar to that of families with two parents. Parents want to provide for their children’s care and financial needs after they’re gone.
Learn MorePosted On: DECEMBER 2024
Over your lifetime, you’ve likely accumulated various tangible assets. These may include automobiles, personal property or art. It’s relatively easy to account for such assets in your estate plan, but what about intangible assets, such as intellectual property (IP)? These assets behave differently from other types of property, so careful planning is required to preserve their value for your family.
Learn MorePosted On: DECEMBER 2024
When a person considers an “estate plan,” he or she typically thinks of a will. And there’s a good reason: A well-crafted, up-to-date will is the cornerstone of an estate plan. Importantly, a will can help ease the burdens on your family during a difficult time. Let’s take a closer look at what to include in a will.
Learn MorePosted On: DECEMBER 2024
Thanks to the annual gift tax exclusion, you can systematically reduce your taxable estate with little effort. And while you typically don’t have to file a gift tax return, in some situations, doing so may be required or recommended.
Learn MorePosted On: NOVEMBER 2024
There are many benefits of including a revocable trust in your estate plan. This trust type allows you to minimize probate expenses, keep your financial affairs private and provide for the management of your assets in the event you become incapacitated. Importantly, they offer flexibility: You’re free to amend the terms of the trust or even revoke it altogether at any time.
Learn MorePosted On: NOVEMBER 2024
If you’re charitably inclined and itemize deductions, you may be entitled to deduct charitable donations. The key word is “may” because there are requirements you must meet.
Learn MorePosted On: NOVEMBER 2024
One of the golden rules of estate planning is to revisit your plan after a significant life event. Such an event may be getting married, having a child, going through a divorce or getting remarried.
Learn MorePosted On: NOVEMBER 2024
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that roughly 70% of Americans age 65 or over will require some form of long-term care (LTC). How will you pay for these services?
Learn MorePosted On: OCTOBER 2024
If you hold an interest in a business that’s closely held or family owned, a buy-sell agreement should be a component of your estate plan. The agreement provides for the orderly disposition of each owner’s interest after a “triggering event,” such as death, disability, divorce, termination of employment or withdrawal from the business.
Learn MorePosted On: OCTOBER 2024
Payable-on-death (POD) and transfer-on-death (TOD) accounts can be simple, inexpensive tools for leaving assets to your heirs outside of probate. But in some cases they can lead to unintended — and undesirable — results.
Learn MorePosted On: OCTOBER 2024
If you’re charitably inclined, you generally have two options for making charitable donations: lifetime gifts or charitable bequests at death. There are pros and cons to each approach.
Learn MorePosted On: OCTOBER 2024
For those who want to arrange for a long-lasting transfer of wealth through multiple generations, consider a dynasty trust. The roots of dynasty trusts can be traced back to the common law principle known as the “rule against perpetuities.” This rule prohibited trusts from lasting indefinitely and was incorporated into law in most states. Typically, state law would require a trust to end within 21 years of the death of the last potential beneficiary at the trust’s creation.
Learn MorePosted On: OCTOBER 2024
If you recently relocated to a new state — or you’re planning such a move — it’s a good idea to review and update your estate plan. You won’t have to throw out your existing plan and start from scratch, but you may need to amend or replace certain documents to ensure that they comply with your new state’s laws and continue to meet your estate planning objectives.
Learn MorePosted On: OCTOBER 2024
For many people, two common estate planning goals are contributing to a favorite charity and leaving significant assets to your family under favorable tax terms. A charitable remainder trust (CRT) can help you achieve both goals.
Learn MorePosted On: OCTOBER 2024
Few estate planning subjects are as misunderstood as probate. Its biggest downside, and the one that grabs the most attention, is the fact that probate is public. Indeed, anyone who’s interested can find out what assets you owned and how they’re being distributed after your death.
Learn MorePosted On: OCTOBER 2024
A key decision you must make when drafting your estate plan is who to appoint as the executor. In a nutshell, an executor (called a “personal representative” in some states) is the person who will carry out your wishes after your death.
Learn MorePosted On: OCTOBER 2024
Legendary singer Aretha Franklin died more than six years ago. However, it wasn’t until last year that a Michigan judge ruled a handwritten document discovered under her couch cushions was a valid will.
Learn MorePosted On: SEPTEMBER 2024
Do you own your principal residence? If so, you’re likely aware that you can benefit from the home’s build-up in equity, realize current tax breaks and pocket a sizable tax- exempt gain when you sell it.
Learn MorePosted On: SEPTEMBER 2024
If you have pets, you likely think of them as cherished family members. In the eyes of the law, however, pets are property. Unless you arrange for their care and maintenance after your death, they’ll go to the residuary beneficiary in your will. If you don’t have a will, they’ll be transferred according to the laws of intestate succession which are unique to each state.
Learn MorePosted On: SEPTEMBER 2024
It’s fair to say that federal gift and estate tax laws can be complex. However, ironically, one of the most effective techniques to reduce the size of your taxable estate is also the simplest: leveraging your annual gift tax exclusion.
Learn MorePosted On: SEPTEMBER 2024
When the time comes to administer a person’s estate, family members typically focus on distributing property according to the deceased’s wishes. But it’s also critical to deal with any debt the deceased has left.
Learn MorePosted On: SEPTEMBER 2024
If you own a closely held business, a significant portion of your wealth may be tied up in it. So, to prepare for retirement and provide for your loved ones, you need an exit plan. One option, if your business is a corporation, is to establish an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP).
Learn MorePosted On: AUGUST 2024
Life insurance can be a powerful estate planning tool. Indeed, it creates an instant source of wealth and liquidity to meet your family’s financial needs after you’re gone. And to shield the proceeds from potential estate taxes, thus ensuring more money for your loved ones, many people transfer their policies to irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs).
Learn MorePosted On: AUGUST 2024
A tax law change in 2019 essentially ended “stretch IRAs” by requiring most beneficiaries of inherited IRAs (other than a spouse) to withdraw all of the funds within 10 years. Since then, there’s been confusion surrounding inherited IRAs and the so called “10-year rule” for required minimum distributions (RMDs).
Learn MorePosted On: AUGUST 2024
A difficult aspect of planning your estate is taking into account your family members’ needs after your death. Indeed, after you’re gone, events may transpire that you hadn’t anticipated or couldn’t have reasonably foreseen.
Learn MorePosted On: AUGUST 2024
Getting divorced and dividing up assets is no easy matter. At least you can sell a house, a car or certain other possessions and distribute the proceeds to the two ex-spouses according to ownership rights under the law.
Learn MorePosted On: JULY 2024
An important part of estate planning is to empower people you trust to make health care decisions on your behalf in the event you become incapacitated by an illness or injury and are unable to communicate your wishes.
Learn MorePosted On: JULY 2024
In a recent case, a federal court ruled on the ownership of four Norman Rockwell illustrations. The case demonstrates the importance of careful planning for the disposition of personal property.
Learn MorePosted On: JULY 2024
When it comes to estate planning, you’re likely familiar with some of its more common terms. These terms typically include a will, a trust or an executor.
Learn MorePosted On: JULY 2024
After you’ve created your estate plan, it’s important to consider how much information you should disclose to your loved ones about its details.
Learn MorePosted On: JULY 2024
If you’re taking your first steps on your estate planning journey, congratulations! No one likes to contemplate his or her mortality, but having a plan in place can provide you and your loved ones peace of mind should you unexpectedly become incapacitated or die.
Learn MorePosted On: JULY 2024
On the one hand, you want your estate plan to achieve certain “technical” objectives. These may include minimizing gift and estate taxes, and protecting your assets from creditors’ claims or frivolous lawsuits.
Learn MorePosted On: JUNE 2024
One of the goals in creating a comprehensive estate plan is to maintain family harmony after your death. Typically, with an estate plan in place, you have the peace of mind that your declarations will be carried out, as required by law.
Learn MorePosted On: JUNE 2024
When it comes to digital assets, it’s important to know that, unlike many assets, they leave little to no “paper trail.” Thus, unless your estate plan specifically provides for them, it may be difficult for your family to access these assets — or even know that they exist.
Learn MorePosted On: JUNE 2024
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) allow eligible individuals to lower their out-of-pocket health care costs and federal tax bills.
Learn MorePosted On: MAY 2024
As a formal estate planning term, “tangible personal property” likely won’t elicit much emotion from you or your loved ones.
Learn MorePosted On: MAY 2024
The laws regarding the execution of a valid will vary from state to state, but typically they require certain formalities.
Learn MorePosted On: MAY 2024
For many years, conservation easements have been a powerful estate planning tool that enable taxpayers to receive income and estate tax benefits while continuing to own and enjoy the properties. So it’s no surprise that the IRS
Learn MorePosted On: MAY 2024
One of the most effective ways to provide for your children in your estate plan is to set up trusts for them. Trusts offer many benefits, including the flexibility of when and how to make distributions, protection of assets from beneficiaries’
Learn MorePosted On: APRIL 2024
Estate planning has a language all its own. While you may be familiar with common terms such as a will, a trust or an executor, you may not be as certain about others.
Learn MorePosted On: APRIL 2024
A living will could provide peace of mind for both you and your family should the unthinkable occur. Yet many people neglect to draft this important estate planning document.
Learn MorePosted On: APRIL 2024
Irrevocable trusts can allow for the smooth, tax-advantaged transfer of wealth to family members. But there’s a drawback: When you set up an irrevocable trust, you must relinquish control of the assets placed in it.
Learn MorePosted On: MARCH 2024
Few things can derail your estate plan as quickly as unanticipated long-term care (LTC) expenses. Most people will need some form of LTC — such as a nursing home or an assisted living facility stay — at some point in their lives. And the cost of this care is steep.
Learn MorePosted On: MARCH 2024
When creating or revising your estate plan, it’s important to take into account all of your loved ones. Because each family has its own unique set of circumstances, there are a variety of trusts and other vehicles available to specifically address most families’ estate planning objectives.
Learn MorePosted On: FEBRUARY 2024
When creating or revising your estate plan, it’s important to take into account all of your loved ones. Because each family has its own unique set of circumstances, there are a variety of trusts and other vehicles available to specifically address most families’ estate planning objectives.
Learn MorePosted On: FEBRUARY 2024
Typically, an estate plan includes accommodations for your spouse, children, grandchildren and even future generations. But some members of the family can be overlooked, such as your parents or in-laws. Yet the older generation may also need your financial assistance.
Learn MorePosted On: FEBRUARY 2024
A will or revocable trust may form the core of your estate plan, but for many people, a substantial amount of wealth bypasses these traditional estate planning tools and is transferred to their loved ones through beneficiary designations. These “nonprobate assets” may include IRAs and certain employer-sponsored retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and some bank or brokerage accounts.
Learn MorePosted On: FEBRUARY 2024
Revocable trusts are a key component of many estate plans. Among other things, these trusts allow you to minimize probate expenses, keep your financial affairs private and provide for the management of your assets in the event you become incapacitated. They also offer flexibility: You’re free to amend the terms of the trust or even revoke it altogether at any time.
Learn MorePosted On: FEBRUARY 2024
If you’re not a U.S. citizen, or if you’re married to a noncitizen, estate planning can be a bit more complicated. To avoid costly tax traps, it’s important to have a basic understanding of how the U.S. gift and estate tax laws apply to noncitizens.
Learn MorePosted On: JANUARY 2024
The chances are good that you’ve made beneficiary designations in your estate plan. Indeed, for most people, a substantial amount of wealth is transferred to their loved ones that way.
Learn MorePosted On: JANUARY 2024
When creating your estate plan, it may be tempting to leave specific assets to specific loved ones. Perhaps you want your oldest child to have the family home or a stock that has sentimental — as well as financial — value. Unfortunately, by doing so you risk inadvertently disinheriting other family members, even if you’ve gone out of your way to ensure that they’re treated fairly. Consider the following example:
Learn MorePosted On: JANUARY 2024
While much of your estate plan focuses on actions that take place after death, it’s equally important to have a plan for making critical financial or medical decisions if you’re unable to make them for yourself during your lifetime. This is why including a power of attorney in your estate plan is a must.
Learn MorePosted On: JANUARY 2024
Creating and adhering to an estate plan is no simple task. Generally, the end goal of estate planning is to divide up and transfer assets to loved ones at minimal or zero tax cost. Of course, a will is a good starting point, but it may be supplemented by various other estate planning techniques, including trusts.
Learn MorePosted On: JANUARY 2024
Do your assets include unregistered securities, such as restricted stocks or interests in hedge funds or private equity funds? If so, it’s important to consider the securities laws that may be involved in various estate planning strategies.
Learn MorePosted On: JANUARY 2024
Until recently, estate planning strategies generally focused on removing as much wealth as possible from one’s estate to avoid the bite of federal estate tax. Although there were income tax advantages to retaining assets in an estate, the estate tax costs usually eclipsed any potential income tax savings.
Learn MorePosted On: JANUARY 2024
Is protecting your wealth after it’s been transferred to beneficiaries just as important to you as reducing the tax liability on the transfers? If so, attaching spendthrift language to a trust can provide you peace of mind that your hard-earned wealth won’t be frivolously spent by your heirs or seized by their creditors. Indeed, the benefit of a spendthrift trust is that it restricts a beneficiary’s ability to access trust funds.
Learn MorePosted On: JANUARY 2024
Taxpayers who itemize deductions are entitled to deduct charitable donations, subject to certain requirements and limitations. One of the requirements is the need to substantiate charitable gifts with documentation that satisfies the tax code and IRS regulations.
Learn MorePosted On: JANUARY 2024
Asset protection is a vital part of estate planning. Indeed, you want to pass on as much of your wealth to family and friends as possible. This can be achieved only if you shield your assets from frivolous creditors’ claims and lawsuits.
Learn More