Estate planning is, no doubt, a family affair. And family, for many individuals, includes furry, four-legged friends and various other creatures.
Estate planning for pets
Safe deposits: know your banks policy and removal procedure
Many individuals choose to use safe deposit boxes through their bank to store various items, including various estate planning documents.
Avoiding probate in New Jersey not always the best decision
Many people have questions when it comes to the issue of whether to place their assets in a living trust in order to avoid the probate process. Oftentimes people hear how cumbersome or expensive the probate process can be, and feel that it would be best to avoid it at all costs.
Compensating executors for administering the estate
One issue that can come up in estate administration, and which should be carefully planned out in estate planning, is the issue of compensating executors for taking care of estate administration matters. Administering an estate can very often be a difficult, time-consuming experience.
Taxes, life estates and other estate planning considerations, P.2
In our previous article, we began discussing various things a person would want to take into consideration before entering into an arrangement in which one purchases or accepts a gift of property from another while allowing the donor or seller to continue living on the property till death. We already mentioned that, if the property is left under the person's will, there will be questions of inheritance tax. If the property is gifted or sold as less than fair market value, there will be gift tax considerations.
Taxes, life estates and other estate planning considerations, P.1
A recent article in the Star Ledger described the situation of a disabled man who left his home and property to his cousin in his will, and later wanted to sell them to his cousin at the lowest price permitted by law, and live there until his death. The disabled cousin proposed to pay utilities, property taxes, and expenses for the interior of the house, and to have his cousin maintain the exterior of the home and property.
Long-term care: an expense many Americans will face, P.2
In our previous post, we began looking at the issue of long-term-care and the difficulty many Americans have in purchasing long-term-care insurance. Here we continue that discussion.
Long-term care: an expense many Americans will face, P.1
When folks think about how they will pay for long-term-care as they age, there could be a number of reactions. Some will go out and purchase insurance products to protect themselves and their family, and others may choose to forego insurance products and plan on using Medicaid as a fallback if their own assets run out. Others will just throw up their hands, unsure of what they should do.
IRS currently looking into failure to report taxable gifts, P.2
In our last post, we noted that the IRS is currently in an effort to audit land-transfer records from at least 15 states for evidence of omissions of gift reporting. Failure to report gifts of real estate for gift tax purposes is, apparently, a common problem in a number of states.
