How to Use Standalone Retirement Trusts Within Your Estate Planning
Retirement assets take a lifetime to build, but they can be spent rather quickly by those who inherit them. An individual retirement account (IRA) is a perfect example. After decades of working, saving and investing, a retired account holder may leave unspent IRA...
Charitable Remainder Trusts Can Be an Attractive Alternative to New IRA and 401k Change
Recent changes to federal provisions governing tax-qualified retirement accounts like 401ks and IRAs could spell disaster for those planning on leaving such accounts to their loved ones as an inheritance. A charitable remainder trust can be an attractive alternative...
Estate Planning is Critical for Millennials in 2020
Working. Paying Bills. Paying taxes. Buying a home. Starting a family. Planning for the future. In the 21st Century vernacular, doing any or all of these things may be classified as "adulting". A recent survey shows that Millennials, who are new or relatively new to...
Life Changes Mean You May Need to Re-Evaluate Your Estate Plan
Keeping your estate plan updated is just as crucial as creating one in the first place. Unfortunately, many people feel that they can simply create a plan once and then let it go from there. While this may be easier, it is not as effective and may not ensure that your...
Estate Planning Concerns When You Are Considering In Vitro Fertilization
Did you know that, as of the year 2015, over one million children have been born in the United States through in vitro fertilization? This is an exciting opportunity for previously childless adults, but it does provide an interesting challenge to all estate planning....
How a Lawyer Can Help You Avoid These Common Estate Planning Mistakes
Despite all the best efforts, your estate plan might fail. All estate plans are unique, but if they fail, we often find they tend to fail for the same reasons. As long as you know what to be careful of and commit to working with an estate planning attorney you trust...
What is the Difference Between a Conduit Trust and an Accumulation Trust?
Did you know conduit trusts and accumulation trusts are collectively known as “see through” trusts. They are special types of trusts. Through these trusts the IRS may look through the trust agreement to a “designated beneficiary” in order to determine whether the IRA...
If My Spouse Died in 2019, Is There Any Advantage to Disclaiming His or Her IRA?
In our previous blogs to date, we have discussed the possible passage of The Secure Act. The Setting Every Community Up For Retirement Act, or the SECURE Act of 2019, continues to have the potential to help millions of Americans achieve their retirement savings goals....
3 Concerns for Blended Family Estate Planning in the New Year
The New Year means it is time to set new goals and resolutions that can guide our actions over the next 12 months. This new year in particular, is also the start of a new decade. This means, for many of us, that we are looking at what is both important to us now as...
Does Your Estate Planning Continue to Reflect Your Goals in 2020?
For many Americans, estate planning is considered an action you take only once. You meet with your experienced estate planning attorney, discuss your goals for your legacy, review your estate planning documents, and then, when they are executed, preserve them for...