The beginning of a new year is a natural time to look out and think about what the future has in store for you and your family. For those with young or newborn children, the immediate future may include lack of sleep, warming bottles, plenty of diaper changes, and...
After months of speculation on what would happen regarding the estate tax, Congress finally passed an extension of the 2001 tax cuts and provided some guidance as to the future of the estate tax. As we have discussed before, the estate tax had disappeared completely...
The purpose of estate planning is to take care of those we leave behind and provide an orderly plan for carrying out our wishes. One aspect of creating that plan that many of us forget about is taking care of our pets. To some it may sound rather silly to talk about...
In our last few posts, we discussed some methods and tools that can be used by individuals that want to pass their wealth on to others while minimizing tax consequences and protecting the value of their assets. In this post, we will conclude that discussion by talking...
In our last post, we discussed some of the basics about making gifts as part of your estate plan. In this post, we will discuss a couple of other estate planning tools that can also be used to help you distribute and protect your assets while minimizing the tax...
A large part of effective estate planning is creating a strategy that will protect your assets while allowing you to pass them on to your heirs. One of the most effective ways to accomplish these goals is to give those assets away. Of course, accomplishing your goals...
Dealing with estate planning issues is difficult for many people. Whether they feel intimidated by the perceived complexity of the matter, or they just don't want to discuss issues of death, many people will put estate planning off as long as possible. Fortunately, if...
As we approach the end of the year, it is time to make sure all of your retirement and estate planning tools are up to date and working for you. One item that may have slipped many peoples' minds is taking any required IRA withdrawal. It is important to make sure you...
In our last post, we discussed the estate tax and how it is scheduled to come back into existence in 2011, albeit with rates far higher than when we last saw it. In this post, we wanted to discuss a few of the tools that an individual might use to reduce the impact...
As we have previously discussed, the year of 2010 has been somewhat unusual in that the federal estate tax disappeared completely under legislation that was enacted earlier this decade and was never modified by Congress. While some have wondered if Congress might step...
