Adult children typically believe that their parents will leave all their assets to them equally however it is not unusal in our estate planning business to see clients who want to give unequal distributions to their children, leave gifts to friends or a favorite charity – even disinherit a child.…
Recently we had a post on our estate planning blog about electronic wills, now only recognized by the state of Utah. What about electronic marriage? Two law professors at Michigan State University are advocating e-marriage. Their suggestion arose out of a situation where a Marine Sgt. met a Japanese woman…
Pets are a large part of our daily life. Pets can provide relief from stress, companionship, and an opportunity to get some exercise and socialization. Pets also can have a beneficial effect on our health in other ways. A study at the State University of Buffalo showed that people with…
Modern technology has altered many things in our society. Can technology improve the area of estate planning? How about an electronic or video will or trust? A client recently contacted our office to ask if he could videotape his father who was in failing health explaining orally how he wanted…
For now, there is no estate tax in 2010. Everyone expected Congress to address the estate tax issue in 2009 but it did not happen. The House passed a bill that would have permanently kept the 2009 exemption but the Senate failed to vote on the estate tax issue leaving…
An irrevocable trust is one that usually cannot be revoked, modified or amended. Trusts can become irrevocable in several ways. Some are created to be irrevocable at the time they are created. An example of this type of irrevocable trust is a Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT). This is a…
As many people approach their sixties, they begin wondering at what age they should start taking social security. It can be a confusing decision. Center for Retirement Research at Boston College has a good link to download the Social Security Claiming Guide. This document has all the information you need…
As you travel through different stages of your life, you may not require the same estate plan. Estate plans are based in part on the phase of life you are in. An estate plan you created when you were in your 30’s could be very different from the one you…
Estate planning for some reason is a task a lot of people put on their “To Do” list but it never seems to work its way to the top of the list. Why is that? People have many reasons for procrastinating. For some, estate planning causes them to have to…
In the 1950’s there was a TV program called “The Millionaire” where an anonymous millionaire gave away a million dollars each week to people he never met. The money was conditioned on the donee not revealing how he got the money or how much he received. I guess no one…