Celebrity estate stories are rife with lessons about mistakes to avoid when creating an estate plan, such as problems with the estates of James Gandolfini, James Brown, and Anna Nicole Smith. Poor estate planning can lead to probate, taxes, and family disputes. Failing to create an estate plan or drafting…
The White House has come forward and stated that President Barack Obama’s advisers would recommend that he veto pending bill, authored by Republicans, which would repeal the federal estate tax. A veto on the bill could happen as soon as Thursday, although experts believed that it stood little chance of…
The White House administration is pushing for legislation that would make it harder for retirement fund brokers to push higher fee mutual funds or other expensive products to people who are trying to save for retirement. The plan, issued by the federal Labor Department, would require brokers to act in…
When a couple is getting married the last thing that they are typically worried about is estate planning. However, once the honeymoon is over you should sit down with your new spouse and update your individual estate plans to reflect the new status of your marriage. The following tips are…
Living and working abroad while maintaining your United States citizenship can add a layer of complexity to the estate planning process. International property, assets, accounts, taxation, and other issues that can affect estate plans must be considered that normally do not complicate the estate planning process. If you expect to…
A lot of people who are saving for retirement prefer to use Roth IRAs as part of their retirement plan. This after-tax income can go a long way in retirement, but annual contribution limits can place a constraint on how much money can be saved. Fortunately, there are “back door”…
In a bizarre care, a woman in New Hampshire admitted in court that she told police that she dug up her father’s grave in search of his “real will” but was rewarded with only vodka and cigarettes. Melanie Nash, 53, pleaded guilty last week as one of four people who…
A Florida Court of Appeals sorted through a complicated question of bank accounts and estates in a case at the end of last year. This case illustrates the complexities of banking law and administering estates in addition to the importance of reviewing the state law regarding estate administration before creating…
The first part of this article dealt with tips to keep in mind when helping an aging loved one with estate planning matters. This included watching for waning mental capacity, exercising any necessary swap powers, reviewing trust principal distribution standards, adjusting the timing of any charitable gifts, amending family limited…
Estate planning lawyers agree that there has been a fundamental shift in their clients’ estate planning concerns over the last couple of decades. There has been less worry about estate tax minimization and more concern for income tax minimizations and other valuable planning ideas. Thankfully, there are things that can…