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5 Essential Tips for Executors or Trustees
Serving as executor or trustee of a will or a trust is an honor… but it’s also a job—a BIG job—and not one to be taken lightly. The role of executor or trustee can be one of great financial power, but it carries with it a heavy fiduciary obligation. Fiduciary obligation means that an executor […]
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No More Excuses, It’s Time To Plan Your Estate
The dust surrounding all the estate tax law “remodeling” is finally settling, and it’s time now for families to give their old (or future) estate plans some serious scrutiny. For all of you who were waiting until Congress made some firm decisions on the estate tax laws—there are no more excuses. Forbes writers Janet Novack […]
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Government Rescinds Medicare Coverage of End-Of-Life Planning
Apparently the suspicion surrounding end-of-life planning is not as far in the past as we might have hoped. The recent Medicare regulation which would have allowed the government to pay doctors who advise patients on options for end-of-life care was rescinded only days after it was enacted. Why such an abrupt turnaround? The reason is […]
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Resolutions to Last You Through the Year
What are your resolutions for 2011? A majority of New Year’s resolutions have to do with money and health—or more specifically, with saving money and losing weight. Unfortunately, most New Year’s resolutions don’t last through the first month of the year. But what if there were steps you could take in that first month, when […]
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Taking Time for End-Of-Life Planning
Advance Health Care Directives (legal documents which include a nomination of your health care agent, and your preferences for end-of-life care) saw a lot of press in 2009 when the Obama administration sought to include end-of-life planning in the new healthcare overhaul. The option was dropped after a media firestorm about “death panels,” but according […]
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At Long Last: What to Expect from Estate Taxes in 2011
It has been a long and uncertain year for anybody interested in the future of the estate tax, filled with a few ups, a few downs, and a lot of speculation. But after the recent passage of the new bipartisan tax bill all of the confusion and speculation is finally at an end, and it’s […]
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Estate Tax Update: The End Is Here (For the Next Two Years)
It looks like the long and weary road to estate tax clarity has come to an end. After a long week, Washington lawmakers voted to approve the tax package negotiated between President Obama and Republican leaders. Laura Saunders of the Wall Street Journal claims in her recent article that everything looks to be coming up […]
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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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Estate Planning Through the Ages
Can you remember what you were doing in your early 20s? Can you imagine what kind of life you’ll be living in your 70s or 80s? We experience incredible changes as the decades roll by—not just to ourselves, but in the world at large. With our lives changing so much, our estate plan and strategies […]
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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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