Today, financial planning and estate planning are inherently intertwined in a number of different ways. Comprehensive estate planning requires responsible financial planning, and responsible financial planning will create assets which comprehensive estate planning will help you protect. One of the world’s most important assets is our children. Once children enter…
When planning their estate, many individuals consider setting up some form of trust to avoid family squabbles over assets, particularly the home. To achieve the goal of a smooth transition of assets and maintaining family harmony, most folks choose to set up some form of trust to avoid probate and…
For many people, pets are more than just entertainment. They can easily become part of your family, making memories more special and providing endless enjoyment for their human companions. Given the important role pets play in our lives, it is important to consider them when engaging in estate planning. This…
For the most part, most of your comprehensive estate planning is aimed at making sure other people are taken care of after your death. However, providing for others is not the only goal of estate planning in today’s world. As we begin to live longer lives, we must also take…
One of the most common estate planning goals for high net worth married couples is to reduce their estate’s tax liability by taking full advantage of state and federal estate tax exemptions. The 2012 Tax Relief, Unemployment Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act (TRA) gave couples much more leeway to plan…
For a long time, Medicaid has had the reputation of being a program that provides insurance and other benefits to poorer individuals throughout the United States. In some ways, recent contentious debates have deepened that image. However, a recent article from Business Insider points out that this is simply not…
An important consideration in anyone’s estate plan is to consider appointing a trusted individual to make important health and financial decisions in any case where the testator may be incapacitated and unable to act in their best interest. One way to do this is to create a durable power of…
If you are in sole proprietorship of your business, you have a number of options to hand over your company when it comes time to retirement or pass away unexpectedly. If you do not have partners in your business, you are generally within your right to hand over the entire…
Whether you are choosing an executor for your Last Will and Testament or a trustee for a trust you have established, it is clearly important to make the right decision. You want to choose someone trustworthy, responsible, and capable of carrying out the responsibilities being entrusted to them. That is…
Saving for retirement just became more difficult for thousands of Americans relying on the Treasury Department’s myRa retirement savings account as the agency recently announced it would wind down the program. In a statement released on the Treasury Department’s website, the agency said the $70 million in costs since 2014…