Many wealthy people are torn between wanting to leave a large inheritance for their children and fears that their children will not be able to handle the wealth. Wealthy parents whose children do not get independently wealthy on their own, often fear that leaving those children a large inheritance would be a mistake. The children […]
There are many ways to leave a charitable legacy. One of the best is the increasingly popular donor advised fund. Giving to charity is not as simple as writing a check and sending it in the mail. Sure, it can be done like that, but if you want to make sure you are getting the […]
President Trump has made an official proposal to repeal the estate tax entirely, as expected. That raises more questions than it answers. While campaigning for the Presidency, Donald Trump frequently said that, if elected, he would repeal the estate tax entirely. As with all political campaign promises, that did not necessarily mean he would follow […]
Studies continue to show that the how and when Americans would prefer to pass away, is not how they actually pass away. That needs to change. Most of the time, the medical profession treats its patients in keeping with what the patients want. If someone has a broken leg, for example, then doctors set the […]
When dealing with irrevocable trusts the ability to effect change can be difficult to understand, presenting more questions than answers. The correct answers often depend on a variety of factors, but a good starting point is state law and the trust document itself. When modification or termination of an irrevocable trust is sought, a possible […]
A minor generally doesn’t have the right to manage his or her assets, including any inheritance. But sometimes a minor child becomes the beneficiary of a sizable family inheritance. That can occur because a parent dies without a will or trust, leading to an unavoidable direct inheritance by the child. If a minor is chosen […]
It is important to keep your will and other estate planning documents in a safe, secure location where they can be easily found, when needed. A safety deposit box in a bank is not one of those places. A will is only effective if it can be used after you pass away to administer your […]
More and more elder Americans are choosing not to get married to their partners. Instead, they are just living together. The trend over the last few decades has been for people to get remarried late in life. This has created many issues for estate planning and the families of the people who do get remarried. […]
One of the biggest problems in estate planning is figuring out how to treat children fairly in circumstances when fairly does not necessarily mean equally. The default estate planning option for people with more than one child is to divide their estates equally between their children. That is the most common thing that is now […]
With the release of President Trump’s tax plan and Republican majorities in Congress, it seems inevitable that the estate tax will go away. That does not eliminate the need to do estate planning. A big part of modern estate planning is planning around the estate tax. Many estate planning instruments were designed to help lower […]