Charlotte had several grown children, and from time to time she would give the children money. Sometimes she called it a gift, but sometimes she called it a loan. A few of the “loans” were small, but sometimes they were $25,000 or more, such as when a child was starting a business. Sometimes the children promised to pay the money back, but they didn’t say when. Sometimes Charlotte called something a “loan,” but it was clear

Some people have been reluctant to review their wills is recent years because the estate tax laws have been so uncertain. They’ve taken the attitude that they want to wait until the dust has settled. Well, with the “fiscal cliff” law on the books, the dust has now settled – or at least things are far more settled now than they have been in a very long time. That fact in itself is a good reason

Congress has temporarily revived a law that lets you make charitable donations directly from your IRA, which might provide some significant tax advantages. But the “IRA charitable rollover” will be allowed only until the end of 2013, so if you think this might benefit you, you should take advantage of it this year. If you’re over the age of 70½, you’re required to take minimum distributions each year from your IRA, and you have to pay

Three big changes in the way that trusts are taxed starting in 2013 are making it far more important to be careful about trust distributions. A trust’s income and capital gains will now be taxed very differently – and much more heavily – than income and capital gains for individuals. As a result, you’ll want to think very carefully about how you arrange distributions. And you might also want to have any existing trusts reviewed to