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Common Misconceptions About Trusts

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:03:44 +0000

A trust is an agreement that you have with yourself that sets out the instructions for how your money will be managed both during your lifetime and after your passing. In many cases, individuals will benefit from having a trust, but not everyone needs to have one. However, the more you know about trusts, how they work and what their benefits are, the easier it is to understand if you need one or not. The following are common misconceptions about trusts. Continue reading →

Families Hoping to Use Medicaid to Help Pay for Long-Term Care

admin — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:40:51 +0000

Families hoping to use Medicaid to help pay for long-term care are facing tougher restrictions—though some states are getting stricter than others. Continue reading →

Do We Spend More Time Planning a One Week Vacation than Planning for What Really Matters?

admin — Tue, 08 May 2012 19:01:48 +0000

Have you taken the steps to protect what matters in your life? Do you have a Will or a Trust? Do you have Powers of Attorney for Health Care or Property? Continue reading →

Family Caregivers – Providing a Selfless Service

admin — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:17:49 +0000

A recent report from AARP found that in 2009, there were 42 million unpaid family caregivers in the United States. According to the study, the “average” caregiver is a 49-year-old female who juggles a job and a family of her own while providing 18.4 hours per week of unpaid care. Continue reading →

Your Estate Plan: It’s the Little Things that Matter Most

admin — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 21:37:55 +0000

Often times when a relative dies it is not the financial assets that can break a family apart, it is the little things that cause the most animosity. Recently I read an article about an item that had caused … Continue reading →

Common Estate Planning Mistakes – Celebrities Make Them Too

admin — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:59:12 +0000

When it comes to estate planning, wills and inheritance arrangements, it’s what most people DON’T know or do – celebs and non-celebs alike - that can cause the most harm. Although we don’t like to think of our own death or disability, these are a few lessons from Hollywood and throughout history where a little planning really could have gone a long way. Continue reading →

Living in a Digital World Means We Have Digital Assets

admin — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 20:30:47 +0000

Digital assets are any file on your computer in a storage drive or website and any online account or membership (John Conner, Texas Tech University School of Law). If you have ever saved a file onto a computer, made an online account, or downloaded a song from iTunes, then you have a digital asset. Continue reading →

You Are Never Too Young For A Will – Amy Winehouse’s Death Illustrates That

admin — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:07:32 +0000

You are never too young for a Will. A will is a document that lets you tell the world who you want to get your assets. Die without one, and the state decides who gets what, without regard to your wishes or your heirs' needs. Continue reading →

Estate Tax Portability

admin — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 16:08:59 +0000

In the past, we've advised married clients to divide their assets between their revocable trusts in such a way as to "equalize" their estates. The reason for this was that we could not know who would pass away first and we wanted to be sure that each spouse could maximize his or her individual exemption allowed under the law. In December 2010, President Obama signed the new tax law to take effect for January 2011 through December 31, 2012, which provided that married couples could elect to combine their individual $5 million exemptions to a $10 million joint exemption for the couple, so that a surviving spouse could apply the predeceased spouse's unused exemption upon the survivor's death. Continue reading →

Reverse Mortgage

admin — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 15:40:46 +0000

We frequently have clients whose health is deteriorating and whose finances are becoming strained, but who have strong feelings regarding staying in their homes. Perhaps they do need round-the-clock nursing care brought into their home, or they may fear becoming isolated if they leave their neighborhoods, churches or friends to move into a facility. Continue reading →