Make This Year Memorable: A 2010 Gift-Giving Guide
Fruit baskets, kitchen gadgets, and Kindles aren’t the only gifts you can give loved ones this year (although you’ll see below that video game systems still make the cut.) Instead, why not give something unique that will leave a lasting impression and help protect your loved one? Here are a few non-traditional ideas for friends […]
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How to Avoid Being “Strangers Rather Than Spouses”
Over the past few years certain states have taken steps to legalize same-sex unions, with many same-sex couples joyously taking advantage of the new laws… but in spite of state approval, these newly married couples do not have the same rights as traditional married couples under federal law. This recent article from Elder Law Answers […]
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Take Care in Making Large Gifts to Heirs
Do you have a provision in your will or trust to pass your house on to your kids when you die? If so, you may want to consider giving the house to them now, before the end of the year. According to this article in the New York Times, doing so could be beneficial to […]
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Lapse in Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Makes Giving to Grandkids Easier Than Ever
Wealthy grandparents have a unique opportunity this year to give their grandchildren gifts of substantial value without incurring any gift tax. This is a huge savings opportunity!—so why aren’t more people taking advantage of it? Part of the reason may be lack of awareness. Everyone knows about the Bush administration’s year-long repeal of the estate […]
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How to Prepare for Changes to Estate Tax Law
This may seem like we’re listening to a broken record, but once again Congress’ inability to act is creating uncertainty in the estate-tax-planning world. We’re little over 3 months away from a major upheaval in the estate tax, and according to the New York Times the upcoming law is likely to cause a lot of […]
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Will Billionaire Steinbrenner’s Death Inspire Congress to Reinstate the Estate Tax?
Common superstition says that famous deaths come in threes, but the death of New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner on July 13 makes four billionaire deaths in 2010. It’s hard to deny the significance of such events in a year when there is no estate tax. According to the Associated Press Steinbrenner’s family is set […]
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How to Plan for the Future While Estate Tax Debate Continues in the Senate
With all the estate tax proposals currently floating around the Senate the future of the estate tax is anybody’s guess… but that doesn’t mean we’ll stop trying to figure it out. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal touches on some of the more recent (and more controversial) proposals floating around Washington. The proposal […]
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More News About the Repealed Estate Tax
Six months into 2010 and the estate tax repeal is still making news. This time it’s a story about Texas billionaire Dan L. Duncan who died in March, leaving all of his billions to his spouse, family and various charitable organizations… and none to the government: “Had his life ended three months earlier, Mr. Duncan’s […]
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World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is June 15
As we age we become vulnerable.We begin to doubt our memories, our bodies are not as reliable as they used to be, and technological advances outstrip our abilities to keep up with them.With this vulnerability comes the opportunity for abuse. Unfortunately, elder abuse is becoming more and more common, both physically and financially.Seniors are a […]
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Recent Deaths Bring Home the Consequences of No Estate Tax in 2010
There was too much confusion to be much rejoicing when the estate tax was repealed for a year on January 1st, 2010. Although the words “no estate tax” may sound good, nobody really expected the state of affairs would last. Most experts believed that Congress would never actually let it happen in the first place; […]
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