Our blog includes posts about a wide range of estate planning topics, including trust-based estate plans, estate planning when you have a disabled adult child, planning as part of a blended family, and planning for charitable giving. To learn more, contact our office to discuss how we can help you create an estate plan that best fits your needs.
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Did You Make Your Fortune the "Old-Fashioned Way?"One of the greatest tricks up the proverbial sleeves of rich families wanting to preserve generational wealth is their ability to pass along their assets to their heirs in perpetuity. They’re able to do this free from the grip of creditors, the IRS, state and local tax authorities, litigators, ex-spouses,...
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Affordable Retirement LocalesTry to purchase a home in New York City with a budget of $140,000 and the options are pretty limited–a 375-square-foot apartment in Queens may be the most luxurious possibility. In Los Angeles, buyers may have to look exclusively at inland foreclosures. But in Knoxville, Tennessee, $140,000 buys a 1,750-square-foot,...
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When Should I Create an Elder Law Estate Plan?The answer is the typically vague "it depends." Elder law estate planning is best viewed by your needs and circumstances, not by your age. The typical concerns prompting a plan include providing for disability, keeping assets out of court when you die or become disabled by using trusts rather than...
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Medicare and Medicaid: What's the Difference?If you have elderly parents, don’t wait to learn about Medicaid — sometimes referred to by a litany of other state names, like Medi-Cal and MassHealth. By any name, this is government insurance for people who have very little money that covers, among other things, the cost of home care...
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Wait, Wealth Building Is That Simple?There's endless complication surrounding estate planning, tax and investment strategy. It seems complex, but it really isn't. That's because wealth building is so simple it can be explained in one sentence — Spend less than you earn and invest the difference wisely. "Spend less than you earn and invest the...
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Will "Old School" Work for Your Family?Traditional estate plans don’t work well for many families these days. A traditional plan is for couples who are in their first and only marriage and have only kids from that marriage. Different plans, tools, and strategies might be needed for people with other life stories. Unfortunately, the divorce rate...
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Estate Planning in a NutshellIf you don't make arrangements for what will happen after you are gone, the government will step in and make all those decisions for you—and they may not be the decisions you'd choose. The process will also be more difficult and costly for your family, so it's important to do...
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Taxes and More Taxes?This year the unified federal gift and estate tax exemption was increased to $5.34 million dollars. What this change means is that an individual can now give up to $5.34 million during their lifetime, or pass away with an estate valued up to $5.34 million dollars, without paying any Federal...
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Get That Retirement Nest Egg Growing!While saving more for retirement is a popular New Year's resolution, it often fails because people don’t have a plan to actually save more. The first months of the New Year are over. Are you on track to save as much for retirement as you thought? Did you catch the...
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Planning for the Final ChapterCompleting the following four tasks can help you meet any last obligations to your loved ones, ensure your final days are spent as you want, and reconcile your dreams with the realities of your life. Is a goal without a plan just a wish? Regardless of the goals you have...
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Lifetime Gift Exclusion and Recent Surge in GiftingThe law created a chance for wealthy families to move assets out of their estates and let their heirs benefit from any appreciation in value, said Lisa Featherngill, a managing director at Abbot Downing, a wealth-management unit of Wells Fargo & Co. According to official numbers recently released by the...
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Estate Planning: A Lifelong Journey, Not Just an End-of-Life ConcernThe best estate planning not only addresses our affairs after death, it also positions us to deal with our affairs under potentially adverse circumstances during our lifetime. When people hear the term "estate planning," most immediately think of senior citizens, retirement, wills and perhaps funerals. While that may be your...