Some celebrity estates are discussed endlessly. Everyone hears about the mistakes they made. Other celebrity estate planning mistakes go little noticed, but they can be just as important. Celebrities are perhaps more aware than anyone else, how the media can sometimes appear to randomly decide to focus on one thing and not something else. Some […]
One of the biggest questions concerning estate planning right now, is whether Donald Trump will carry out his campaign promise to eliminate the estate tax and whether or not he should. The estate tax is a one of those hot button issues over which political parties are sharply divided. While campaigning for the presidency, Donald […]
Believe it or not, you have an estate. In fact, nearly everyone does. Your estate is comprised of everything you own— your car, home, other real estate, checking and savings accounts, investments, life insurance, furniture, personal possessions. No matter how large or how modest, everyone has an estate and something in common—you can’t take it […]
Unscrupulous companies employ salespeople to scam the elderly into paying large sums for worthless estate planning documents that are not created by attorneys. As a recent article in My San Antonio "'Trust mill' scam hits elderly hard" illustrates, this is an important thing of which elderly people need to be aware. A reader wrote in […]
It is well known that many wealthy families have massive fights over estates. Sometimes, the public watches these disputes play out in the courts and media. They are not just about money. Estate battles have been going on between siblings for as long as there have been estates and wealthy people who pass away. History […]
President-elect Donald Trump ran his campaign as a populist champion of the working class. His vow to eliminate the estate tax could be a test of whether or not he is. Pollsters have long known that asking questions in different ways can lead to different results. This is true when Americans are asked about the […]
Deciding what should go into your trust and what should not, can sometimes be complicated. However, it is not complicated when talking about your investment accounts. Once you get a proper trust drafted by an experienced estate planning attorney, you then need to start funding the trust. You need to start adding your assets into […]
A durable power of attorney is an extremely important estate planning tool, often more important than a will. If you become incapacitated due to dementia or some other reason, this crucial document allows a person you appoint (your “attorney-in-fact” or “agent”) to act in place of you (the “principal” ) for financial purposes. […]
It’s important to review a revocable trust regularly to see if any amendments are needed, such as when something changes in your life or if the law changes. There are two ways to go about it. You can either amend the existing trust to change a certain part of it or rewrite the whole trust, […]
The ability to take valuation discounts on the transfer of an interest in a family business for estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax purposes would be drastically limited under long-awaited proposed regulations from the Treasury Department. The most impactful element of the proposal bars any significant discount for lack of control or lack of marketability […]