When you hear the words “Estate Planning” there’s a certain picture that pops into your mind. Most people think of it as having a plan that distributes the assets you’ve accumulated during your lifetime to the people and organizations you want to benefit after you’re gone. And that picture would be exactly right. But there’s a part of estate planning [...]
The legal part of the divorce is behind you and you’re a single mom. Now, besides making a living and all the work that goes with that, you’re also responsible for the care of minor children—little people whose daily lives and long-term future depend on you. How will they be cared for if something happens to you? Will they be [...]
I’ve written about this before, but I recently had an experience that reminded me of all the financial things that have to be handled when a spouse dies. In this case, a long-time client of mine died on a Monday. On Tuesday his wife was on the phone. She said, “You always told me to call you if anything happened [...]
You’re creating your estate plan. Part of it outlines how you want your estate handled when you die. But there’s another part giving instructions about what happens if you become incapacitated and can’t make your own decisions. In that case, it’s imperative that you have a financial power of attorney document. In the financial power of attorney (FPOA), you name [...]
“Hey, when am I going to get my money?” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard beneficiaries ask that question when they’ve been named in a Will or Trust. It’s not uncommon for the beneficiary to put pressure on the executor or trustee to speed up the process. And if the person settling the estate caves to the [...]
Celebrities are often placed on a pedestal because of their success and their extraordinary talent—people like Elvis, Aretha Franklin, Prince, Michael Jackson, Howard Hughes, Pablo Picasso, Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix. They were gifted and they made boat-loads of money doing what they did best. But making money has no correlation to handling money. And in the case of everyone [...]
Gifting is a great financial planning tool, especially at the end of the year. Alhambra's Bob Williams goes through the basics.
You need more than a Will or Trust to round out your estate plan. Alhambra's Bob Williams lists other Must Have planning documents.
In 2012, the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) established, for the first time, a permanent estate tax and gift tax exemption. The exemption is the amount an individual can pass on at death without paying estate taxes. The legislation set the exemption at $5 million per person, indexed for inflation. Five years later, Congress decided the exemption was not large [...]
If you’ve been gifting money each year to people you love, or using gifting as a planning tool, it’s about to get even better. In 2023, the amount you can give away takes a healthy jump and as long as your generosity doesn’t exceed the limit, you should stay off the IRS radar. In 2023 the new annual exclusion moves [...]
Stay In Touch