Estate Planning

• Posted in: Estate Planning

While sitting around the dinner table during the upcoming holidays, you might want to turn the conversation around to your estate plan. Telling your family members about your final wishes might just be the best gift you can give them. It could head off disagreements and hard feelings. Why talk about something so morbid at […]

• Posted in: Estate Planning

You’ve got plenty to do this time of year. Buy presents. Get a turkey. Decorate the house. But there’s one more thing that you should add to the list – update your estate plan. Your estate plan needs to change as often as your life changes, says an article on savannahnow.com. Maybe there is a […]

• Posted in: Estate Planning

The estate tax exemption for 2015 has jumped to $5.43 million per person, up from $5.34 million, due to an adjustment for inflation, the IRS has announced. For a married couple, the combined exemption increases to nearly $11 million, notes a story in the Wall Street Journal. The annual gift exclusion, however, will remain at […]

• Posted in: Beneficiary Designation

Even though many people think so, retirement accounts are not included in wills. A story in Forbes points out that who gets the money invested in a retirement account such as an IRA depends on who is named on the account’s beneficiary form. Lots of people make mistakes when it comes to retirement accounts. They […]

• Posted in: Beneficiary Designation

Some of your assets cannot be passed on to your heirs through your Last Will and Testament. Instead, some assets are passed on to a beneficiary who you designate under the terms of the agreement with the financial institution. For example, bank accounts, brokerage accounts, retirement plans, annuities and life insurance policies. A recent article […]

• Posted in: Estate Planning

As estate planning attorneys, we are often asked, “When should I do my estate plan?” The answer is: “Anyone who is over the age of 18.” Estate planning is critical to everyday living for adults over the age of 18, and should be one of the priorities regardless of your age or marital status. If […]

• Posted in: Estate Planning

In an ever-increasing paperless world, it is becoming more important to create a plan for your survivors to follow when navigating your online financial accounts. Prior to the digitalization of financial records, when a loved one passed on, organizing financial records was a fairly straight forward process consisting of gathering any bank statements or other […]

• Posted in: Estate Planning

When the U.S. Supreme Court handed down their ruling last Wednesday, striking section 3 from the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as unconstitutional, the Court radically changed the estate planning laws for many same-sex married couples. Not only are marriages of same-sex couples is now recognized as legal under federal law, but they can now […]

• Posted in: Estate Planning

There are many estate planning considerations that parents need to make. Although grim, parents need to consider and plan for the possibility that one or both parents may suddenly become unable to care for their minor children. A recent article discusses some of the estate planning considerations that parents should make. Parents need to first […]

• Posted in: Estate Planning

When planning your estate, it is important to remember that communication with your loved ones and friends is vital to the success of your plan. A recent article discusses how best to can start an estate planning conversation. Schedule the conversation: By scheduling a time to speak about your estate plan with your family and […]