Here are a few easy approaches that can reduce or avoid taxes, and are also effective wealth transfer techniques. Gifting makes up one of the pillars of estate planning. Strategic gifting can mean all the difference between a plan for family wealth that works and a plan that doesn’t. Forbes…
To make that wealth last forever, you're probably going to need future generations to replenish that wealth. If you have wealth to pass on to the next generation, have you hoped that your wealth will continue on for generations to come? It's a tough goal to have, considering you'll be…
Dividing money is easy. But who gets Mom’s tea set? When we hear about heirs fighting over an inheritance, most of us think about money as being the main issue. But money isn't everything! How you split up priceless family artifacts and other physical goods can start or end fights…
Today, with smaller families and more women choosing not to have children, “the dynamic has changed pretty significantly for the generation of baby boomers. The option of doing something charitably significant with their estates is a change,” he said. The New York Times recently touched on the subject of estate…
Medicare has published new rules spelling out the changes, and an education campaign aimed at healthcare providers began in January. But many healthcare providers haven't grasped it, either. As you may know, Medicare has recently undergone a big change affecting long-term care and the availability of skilled nursing or therapy.…
As with estate planning for humans, creating a pet trust is designed to give owners peace of mind. To ensure that pets will be cared for in accordance with an owner’s wishes, owners should be sure to definitively detail their pet’s standard of living and nutritional and health care. Although…
…There are a few important questions many of us don’t think about. They’re the often overlooked issues of estate planning that could make all the difference for your relatives and heirs after you pass. Estate planning encompasses so many areas of your life. For starters, you'll likely consider your values…
Ultimately, the decision about whether to leave your children money now or later depends entirely on your financial and family circumstances. Deciding whether or not to leave an inheritance is only part of the equation. When should you give it – now or later? Forbes recently tackled this difficult issue…
“Young people may be eager to marry for love, but older couples are more practical and worry about paying the bills,” says Pepper Schwartz, professor of sociology at the University of Washington. These days, more and more Americans are meeting new loves or (finally) their true loves later in life.…
Remember that any mistakes in your estate plan will live long after you. Follow these rules and you’ll end up with an estate plan that works well for you and your heirs. Planning for the estate is really an ongoing activity. Accordingly, estate planning is not a “one-and-done” event, but…