It’s a big year for the first set of baby boomers: They’re turning 70 1/2. And that means getting prepared for their first mandatory distributions from tax-sheltered retirement accounts. The first thing to keep in mind is that the amount of your required annual withdrawal is based on the assets in the account as of […]
There are many reasons why you should have an estate plan. One of them stands out above the others. Getting an estate plan will spare your family a lot of pain later. One of the last things that most people would ever want to do is to cause pain for their loved ones. However, it […]
Reverse mortgages used to have a much deserved terrible reputation. Today, however, they are much better and have become a viable option for many people. Many elderly people find themselves in need of money to meet unexpected expenses. Sometimes, they just did not anticipate how much they would need to live on in retirement. While […]
Every February married couples express their love for each other on Valentine’s Day. In estate planning, however, saying “I love you” might not be the best approach to take for your spouse. You have probably heard of the term “simple will.” It normally refers to a will made by a married person that leaves his […]
An important age discrimination case has been declared a mistrial, after the jury could not reach a decision. That leaves an important question for older job seekers unanswered. Several years ago, an employee of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission went out to eat at a Texas Roadhouse restaurant. The employee began asking questions of staff […]
Family battles over an estate are not uncommon. While there can be several different reasons for these fights, there are a few reasons that are the most common. Most of the time, litigation over an estate pits family members against family members. If there is a large sum of money involved, people have many reasons […]
This 8-point checklist can help determine whether your estate plan needs help. An estate plan, properly executed, can protect you as well as your family in the event of sickness, accidents or untimely death. With just a little advanced planning, you can help your family avoid wasted dollars and unnecessary hardship. Even if you have […]
Buried in a new federal law is a tiny change that will now allow individuals to set up their own special needs trusts. The sum total of the change is two words — “the individual” — intended to correct a more than 20-year-old error. The change is called the Special Needs Trust Fairness Act. Authorized […]
Our “Selecting the Best Estate Planning Strategies Guide” has been updated. If you haven’t read this guide before, you should download it now. It is a great resource to learn some of the basic (and more complicated) estate planning techniques that we use in our practice. Download a complimentary guide here: https://www.sslawoffices.com/Free-Reports.php
Improperly doing the little things in estate planning, often end up costing families the most money. Talk about estate planning mistakes often focuses on the big picture things that people get wrong. Thousands of articles are written, whenever a celebrity or wealthy person makes a big estate planning mistake, such as failing to update an […]