Estate Planning

To many young adults and even middle-aged adults, estate planning might seem like a concern for those closer to retirement. Those who don't have children or those who have yet to accumulate substantial personal possessions might think that they have no need for a last...

Almost everyone will tell you that effective estate planning is crucial. At the same time, most people will also tell you that they haven't done enough or haven't even started yet. People often assume they don't need to worry about it until they're older, they feel...

When it's time to plan your estate, something that must be done is the appointment of a power of attorney. The POA has several important jobs, but, most importantly, he or she can make all necessary decisions for you in the case that you can't due to illness or...

You considered a lot when you set up your family business, from obtaining financing to selecting an entity. Your children were no doubt a factor as well. Some of it was good; with a family-run business, you can keep control between those you love. Some of it may have...

We all wish we had some sort of super power, don't we? When we were kids we pretended to have super powers on the playground during recess - invisibility, superhuman strength, x-ray vision.But that was all pretend, wasn't it? Just play acting?Well, maybe not. The law...

In our last post, we explored the issue of income tax savings with respect to bypass trusts. In this one, we’ll look at a particular strategy to allow beneficiaries of a bypass trust avoid capital gains tax on assets they receive when a surviving spouse (their...

Readers who have some background knowledge in estate planning know that bypass trusts, a common estate planning strategy in previous years, has diminished in recent years as the estate tax exemption amount has increased.Earlier this year, when the $5 million (plus...

We wrote last week about the estate planning dispute involving the estate of copper heiress Huguette Clark, involving the issue of whether Clark had capacity when she executed her second will. As our readers will remember, the second will drastically changed how Clark...

Estate planning attorneys and financial planners, it seems, are always encouraging people to get an estate plan in place and to regularly update it. Most of us know this is good advice, and that the sooner we get around to it, the more peace of mind we’ll have....

In estate planning, there are a number of common mistakes that people fall into. One of these is failing to monitor beneficiary designations. These are important, as they determine where funds from bank brokerage accounts, life insurance policies, retirement packages,...