One estate planning scam is growing in popularity for people who are looking to begin crafting their estate plan and have amassed wealth or business over their lifetimes. The estate planning aggregator claims to do comprehensive planning for people who have concerns about taxes on their wealth or business issues…
One New York resident, now 65 years old and in retirement, has amassed a Las Vegas chip collection worth an estimated $500,000 over the course of two decades. However, he is childless, and no one in his extended family has expressed an interest in keeping the collection. He is also…
If your loved one has special needs or development disabilities, you may want to consider establishing a special needs trust. Also known as a supplemental needs trust, this type of trust is a legal tool used to help disabled people keep more of their income or assets without losing public…
If you want to lower your overall taxes for this year, now is the time to act. The opportunities to cut taxes on your overall bill are reduced dramatically after December 31. Many taxpayers forget about these opportunities or act too late to take advantage. In addition, Congress has yet…
It’s not uncommon to turn on the television and see an advertisement for a state that is enticing visitors to vacation or move there permanently. However, more and more states across the nation are also trying to advertise that they are a great place to die. In 2015, four states…
Part of proper estate planning means safeguarding not only your physical, tangible assets but your digital assets, as well. Many people do not protect these assets for a variety of reasons: a few do not think that it is important, some do not know how, and others simply do not…
The ethical will, a document with no legal significance but can be supplemented to a regular will as part of the estate planning package, is meant to share personal lessons and advice with loved ones in addition to passing along physical parts of the estate. While the concept of an…
With the end of the year approaching, it is good time to review your estate plan and take care of any last minute financial chores before any new tax and estate planning laws take effect for the following year. Here are eight basic items to check off of your to-do…
Millions of elderly and disabled Americans receiving Social Security benefits will see a small increase in their government payments next year. The Social Security Administration announced earlier this month that it will be adding a 1.7% cost of living increase for the nearly 58 million Americans receiving federal retirement or…
The federal estate tax is no longer the biggest concern for many people going through the estate planning process. However, this was not always the case. In 2004, any estate worth more than $1.5 million, or whose estate owner made gifts above that limit while alive, were subject to federal…