What Happens to Your Social Media Accounts at Your Death? According to Statista, more than 295 million people in the United States use social media.[1] If you are an avid social media user, have you considered what will happen to your accounts when you die? If you...
Important Questions to Ask When Investing in a Vacation Property According to the National Association of Home Builders, in 2018, there were approximately 7.5 million second homes, making up 5.5 percent of the total number of homes.[1] When it comes to estate...
Proper estate planning is essential for every adult American, but especially for those in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Action must be taken sooner rather than later if you want to participate in the planning process itself....
One of the main goals of estate planning is to minimize the amount of taxes owed on your death. You can accomplish this through various means, including gifting assets during your lifetime, setting up trusts, and carefully selecting beneficiaries. As the saying goes,...
Identity theft is the last thing a grieving family should have to worry about after the loss of a loved one. Unfortunately, identity thieves have increasingly targeted the identities of deceased people, using their names and other identifying information to get credit...
More than a few estate planning attorneys meet with clients who haven’t looked at their will since their children were in diapers. The meeting occurs when the children have children of their own. This mistake can have grave consequences for everyone in the family,...
Traditional or non-traditional couples have the option of marrying, but not all couples wish to, according to a recent article from Kiplinger, “Marriage: When You’d Rather Not.” Planning for a life together without the legal protections provided by marriage means...
Now may be a good time to consider a Roth IRA Conversion. When it comes to retirement planning, many people focus on picking the right mix of investments. And while asset allocation is undoubtedly important, it's not the only factor to consider. Another crucial...
Internal Revenue Service Offers Further Relief for Late Filed Estate Tax Returns Electing Portability. Portability is a planning tool available only to married couples. It essentially allows a surviving spouse to take any leftover estate tax exemption that the...
Movie and TV fans were shocked to hear the news of Ray Liotta's death on May 26. The "Goodfellas" star was just 67 when he died. Deadline reported that he was on location in the Dominican Republic working on a new movie, when he was found to have died in his sleep....
Estate plans come in all sizes and shapes. One of the decisions in creating an estate plan is whether a trust should be part of your plan, as detailed in this recent article titled “Trust vs. Will: What They Share (And 6 Ways They are Different)” from Yahoo! Money....
This is a problem solved by a trust—a “spendthrift” trust. With a spendthrift provision in a testamentary trust created under a will or an inheritance trust created under a revocable living trust, the trustee makes all decisions about distributions. This can be an...
