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Information
Reasons for Estate Planning
Do you know what happens if you die without a will? The courts will decide who will raise your children, manage your assets, inherit your possessions, and administer your estate. Heirs must usually agree on a court appointed administrator.Read more…Offshore Asset Protection Trusts for US Citizens
When it comes to discussing offshore anything and US citizens - from offshore trusts to investments, from offshore banking to company incorporation - it’s important to note the following facts: -- US citizens are taxed on their worldwide income. This includes income from interest, dividends and gains whether onshore or offshore.- The US government allows money and assets to be moved offshore freely; however it requires full disclosure relating to the amount of money or assets moved and when they are moved.Read more…Second Marriages - Estate Planning Concerns
One of the biggest areas of dispute in estate planning is with second marriages. Here is a question I received. I’ve changed the facts around so that I am not giving specific legal advice.Read more…Living Trusts: Do They Protect Your Assets From Creditors?
A surprising number of readers want to know "Can a living trust protect my family's assets from creditors and lawsuits?"I think there are some promoters out there that use this as a pitch to get people to set up a living trust using their services:"Transfer your assets to a living trust and hide them from your creditors," are the claims.Sorry, that's not the law.Read more…Joint Tenancy, a Will or a Trust? What's the Best Way to Plan Your Estate?
estate plan for you if you don’t have your own,” is preferable to creating your own estate plan.The problem is that newspapers, magazines, and other media often present conflicting views on whether it is best to choose joint tenancy, a will or a trust as your estate planning vehicle. Who’s telling the truth?Read more…Why Estate Planning Is a Woman's Issue
In a nation consumed with wealth-building, it’s easy to forget that earning money is only half the financial security battle. Equally important is protecting our hard-won financial security with a well-designed estate plan. For women, the importance of planning is paramount, because most often women must cope when loved ones become disabled or die.Read more…The Strange Case of Strangi (Or "Life is Strangi(er) than Fiction")
Way back in 1993 in Texas, Mr. Strangi ended up sick with cancer, and gave his son-in-law, an attorney, authority to handle his affairs.The son-in-law (we will call him “Bob”) set up a Texas Family Limited Partnership (FLP) with a corporate general partner.Read more…Appointing A Financially Literate Executor
During the estate administration, the personal representative (the Executor where there is a will and the Administrator, where there is none) has full control of the assets of a deceased's estate. Only the executor has the power and authority to sign the checks in respect of the deceased's bank accounts, sell the assets and receive the sale proceeds.Choosing and appointing a financially literate executor will give you and your beneficiaries, peace of mind.Read more…Retirement Planning for the Future
Many people make the mistake that retirement is only something that older people need to worry about. Unfortunately, this way of thinking can longer be acceptable, because those in their 20’s and 30’s who do not plan for their future now will end up with very little come retirement age. If you engage in planning for retirement now, you’ll be able to rest assured that you can continue to live the lifestyle you’ve always dreamed about.Read more…Protecting Your Child: Setting Up a Special Needs Trust
Parents of children with special needs, such as those with cerebral palsy should visit a lawyer and set up a Special Needs Trust. A special needs trust is set up allow use of property for the beneficiary without losing access to essential government services and benefits. As it stands now a person who is disabled cannot inherit more than $2,000- it will interrupt his or her government benefits.Read more…Estate Planning ... Not Just For The Wealthy
You've worked hard, accumulated assets, and been diligent in saving for a comfortable retirement. Now it is important to implement a plan to protect those assets in the event something were to happen to you. Estate planning is critically important in the development and implementation of a plan that facilitates the distribution of your assets in the event you become incapacitated, or ultimately, at death.Read more…What is Your Legacy?
How will you be remembered after you are gone? Perhaps you don’t care or perhaps you haven’t thought about it. Maybe, if you are like me, you have thought about it quite a bit.Read more…Things to Consider When Using a Family Limited Partnership
This FLP Alert is directed at clients and their advisors who have already established Family Limited Partnerships (“FLP’s”) and those clients who are considering a partnership as part of their estate plan.With all the attacks the IRS has made on FLP’s over the past few years, culminating at the Strangi III decision in July 2005, many have inquired as to the continued viability of FLP’s, particularly with respect to estate tax valuation discounts. The Strangi cases (I, II and III) were extreme cases involving a fact pattern that weighed heavily against the taxpayer and should be used to clarify how to structure an FLP in order to minimize tax consequences.Read more…Corporate Kit Estate Binders
Corporate kit estate binders help to keep everything in one place. Corporate binders usually have important material related to a public or private company, which includes a minute book, share certificate, common seal, stock ledgers, etc. All of these things are kept in a well-built, turned-edge, D-ring minute book binder engraved with the company name.Read more…Probate: A Simple Explanation of a Daunting Topic
Many people have heard about or know of someone whose estate has gone through probate. The stories range from it being a short and straight-forward process to it being a nightmare that took several years. This is of particular concern to the segment of the population about to hit retirement age.Read more…Developing Your Estate Plan
You’ve spent years growing your wealth and building your estate, so it is just good sense to plan to protect your assets and pass them on to your beneficiaries according to your wishes. When you’re ready to sit down and develop an estate plan, keep these tips in mind. Write a will.Read more…How Can An Estate Plan Help Me?
Do you know how your life will be divided after your death? Who will your estate go to Who will look after your children? With an estate plan you decide.Read more…Beneficiary Controlled Trust Fact Sheet
A beneficiary controlled trust is fast becoming a favorite estate planning tool as rising real estate prices push up the value of middle class estates.In a beneficiary controlled trust, the primary beneficiary acts as co-trustee and exercises nearly all of the rights, benefits, and control over trust property that a person would have over that same property with outright ownership - but without the normal exposure to creditors, lawsuits, divorce courts, or the IRS.Here are the elements of a beneficiary controlled trust:1. The donor, often a parent or grandparent, is the grantor of the trust.Read more…Private Annuity Trust, Charitable Remainder Trust or 1031-TIC: Which Is Right for You?
I've written a lot about how a PAT or a CRT or a 1031-TIC might be right for other people, but how do you decide if one is right for you? There are several things you should think about when trying to choose between these three options:1) Are you at a place in your life where you want to accrue assets or do you want to distribute them?If you are still trying to accrue assets, you may want to use a 1031-TIC vehicle to generate income and save capital gains tax because you don't lose control of the asset like you do with a PAT or a CRT.Read more…Sometimes a Conservator can be a Good Thing!
The thought of having a conservator appointed for a parent or relative - even a friend or neighbor - is something we all seem to loath. It has all sorts of negative connotations, including the fact that a conserved individual will be paraded through the probate courts with psychiatric and medical evaluations open for all to see. But, most of all, it's the loss of dignity that results when the state declares an individual incapable - and takes away his or her right to vote, or marry, or divorce, or write a check, or pay a bill, or make any other meaningful decisions.Read more…
Most Recent Articles in Estate Plan Trusts category
- Choosing Guardians for Children - By: Jamie Kahn
The most important decision you'll make in your estate plan is appointing guardians for your minor children. Who you pick will impact not only your children but also the lives of your guardians. While you and your children may feel an affinity for a particular adult(s), that relationship could be strained in a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week environment. - How To Protect Your Retirement Savings For Your Golden Years - By: Gregg Hall
Retirement is a glorious time every working individual looks forward to. It is a time of freedom, rest, and relaxation. It is also a time to do what you did not have time or resources to do when you were working. - Some Simple Strategies For Protecting Your Assets - By: Gregg Hall
As elementary as it may sound, no matter how much money you make, you still need to find ways to hold onto it. There are many small steps to take that will add up to big savings in the end. If you value the assets you have accumulated, or if you feel you should be accumulating more, take this advice and make some minor changes. - Reverse Mortgage Supplemental Retirement Financing Strategy - By: Jon Hansen
A reverse mortgage is a loan for senior citizens. It is often used to cover medical expenses, and is becoming a common way for retired persons to supplement their existing monthly retirement income.This is a loan that senior home owners may take against their current home. - Understanding The Benefits Of Forming Trusts - By: Alexander Gordon
What is a Trust And Who Are The Settlor, Trustee And Beneficiaries?A trust is an institute of a special type of structure capable of holding title of the property-providing benefits to one or more people. It is a lawful relationship between the two people, the settlor and the trustee. - Trust Deeds – Breath A Debt Free Life at Easy Terms - By: Linda R Davis
Trust deeds are considered as a convenient settlement of debts a debtor is no more able to pay off. The trust deeds are a method used in Scotland for easy clearance of debts. Usually elsewhere for lessening and time bound pay off of debts, debt management program is sought by the debt ridden person. - Ira Trusts: What's All The Hype About - By: Perry Fields
A recent new development in estate planning is helping thousands of affluent people across the country with IRAs over 100,000 transcend estate tax and income tax. It keeps your beneficiaries from blowing all of the money you’ve worked so hard for.Its gives YOU the control over the conditions which must exist before your beneficiary can access the funds (other than the mandatory IRA distributions). - Enduring Power of Attorney Being Phased Out - By: Adrian Tatum
In the UK the new mental capacity act is due to come into force on the first Monday in April 2007.The Act governs decision-making on behalf of adults who lack mental capacity, both where they lose capacity at some point in their lives, and where the incapacitating condition has been present since birth.This act covers all decisions, including personal welfare and financial matters, and covers decision-making on their behalf by attorneys, or court-appointed "deputies". - Probate and Estate Sales - By: Mika Hamilton
“It's all about quality of life and finding a happy balance between work and friends and family.”-Philip GreenProbate and estate sales usually occur when someone wealthy dies. Estate sales have to be conducted because the decedent did not leave a will and everything is in his name. - Anguilla as a Offshore Jurisdiction - By: Gissela Martinez
Anguilla is another jurisdiction with misleading bank secrecy. Commercial confidentiality is contained in the statues, BUT the government of Anguilla will co-operate fully with law enforcement agencies and regulators in other jurisdictions, think wholesale fishing expeditions and inquiries related to “possible” income tax violations. In other words records may be requested just to see if in fact there were any taxation violations that citizens of a certain country may have committed using Anguilla as a jurisdiction.