Estate Planning Blog Articles

Now that there is a Democratic majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives, estate and gift tax law changes are expected to occur in 2021 or 2022.

Beneficiary designations, tying up loose ends, reporting last wishes—here’s what you can do now.

Here’s a closer look at what per stirpes vs. per capita means.

When it comes to your retirement accounts, do you know who your beneficiaries are? These types of accounts have complex distribution rules and significant tax implications for those who inherit them. This complexity is compounded, if there are errors or missing information on your beneficiary forms, as is often the case. Add to this the game-changer SECURE ACT, the largest retirement legislation that has been passed in decades—and there has never been a more important time to review your beneficiary forms.

The couple needs to create an appropriate estate plan. If they truly want inheritance rights, they need to execute testamentary documents, such as wills.

A serious illness can happen at any age, but just 18% of those 55 and older have a living will, power of attorney for health care and a last will and testament, according to a 2019 study by Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. AZ Central’s recent article entitled “What to know about wills and health care…

After the divorce, Mike logged onto the employer’s benefits system and tried, but failed, to delete Wendy as the beneficiary of his life insurance.

If you don’t also fund it, unexpected things can happen and some of those things may not reflect the intent to the grantor.

As states address budget woes due to the pandemic, one place they may turn to for revenue as they have in past economic crises is death taxes.