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Estate planning is meant to be an ongoing process, not a one-time transaction. In the same way that you never stop budgeting, saving, and investing as you go through life, it is also sensible to see estate planning as a lifelong project. Let’s look at some of the considerations you should make now that the [...]

Some of the most generous provisions of the tax code are those that permit beneficiaries of IRAs and other qualified retirement plans to defer income tax on the plans until time of withdrawal. This allows the IRA or qualified plan to grow significantly more than if it were subject to tax on gains each year. [...]

With the $5.12 million per person exemption from federal estate tax ($10.24 million for married couples), most of the estate planning 'talk' recently has been on the planning opportunities available to affluent families. However, the need for estate planning remains for everyone. According to a recent Forbes article, 55% of Americans do not have even [...]

With higher education costs outpacing inflation by 5-6% per year, and the average cost of a four-year public school at nearly $20,000 per year (double that for private schools) it's no surprise that many parents and grandparents are deeply concerned about how they will pay for higher education. Many of these clients are similarly concerned [...]

The Most Important Love Letters You'll Ever Write? Many Americans have the misperception that estate planning is simply preparing for one's death and is only necessary for the affluent. To the contrary, estate planning is as much about passing values to loved ones as it is about passing material possessions. Thus it should come as [...]

In first marriages, the couple generally has the same goals when it comes to their estate planning: take care of the surviving spouse for as long as he or she lives, then whatever is left will go to the children. They may own many of their assets jointly and, at the death of the first [...]

Anyone with children or modest assets should seriously consider some minimal estate planning, but the increasing number of blended families underscores the need for proper estate planning. Blended families can involve children from a prior marriage as well as joint children, sometimes joking referred to as 'his, hers and theirs.' And blended families involve both [...]

With the number of online and do-it-yourself (DIY) legal providers continuing to grow, some of individuals may be wondering if they could do their estate planning themselves. The advertising is seductive: attorneys use similar forms, the cost is significantly less than hiring an attorney, and many of these websites and kits are created by attorneys. [...]

The main reasons most people have life insurance are to pay final expenses (medical, funeral, burial, etc.), replace an income stream and/or create wealth for our dependents after we die. Life insurance can also play an important role in business, estate planning and charitable giving. When considering whether or not you need life insurance, think [...]

Many clients use beneficiary designations, and for good reason. Some significant assets, including life insurance policies, IRAs, retirement plans and even bank accounts, allow a beneficiary to be named. It's free, it's easy, and, when the owner dies, these assets are designed to be paid directly to the individual(s) named as beneficiary, outside of probate. [...]