It’s important to have access to the originals of your power of attorney documents, because a photocopy sometimes won’t be accepted. Sometimes an attorney keeps the originals, and sometimes the client keeps them. Both are good ideas. But either way, make sure you can access them when you need them. If you keep them yourself, put them in a safe place. And if your attorney keeps them, be sure you leave enough time to obtain them
When Marc MacGinnis was in the hospital awaiting surgery, he asked his friend Brent to prepare a will for him that would leave half of his estate to Brent and half to Marc’s sister, Susan. Brent downloaded some will forms from the Internet, but Susan then suggested that she contact a lawyer to set up a trust instead. She said this would be better because it would avoid probate. Susan never talked to a lawyer, and
What’s the legal status of a child who was conceived after a parent’s death? That question would have been ridiculous not many years ago, but with advances in fertility treatments and the ability to freeze embryos and store sperm for later use, a number of children are now being conceived after one biological parent has passed away. This has created a number of legal issues. For instance, the Supreme Court recently decided whether twins who were
A new 3.8% tax on investment income will take effect in 2013, and anyone who has significant investments or who manages a trust should be planning for it now. The tax was included in President Obama’s health care law. In the past, many people didn’t plan for the tax because they thought the law might be struck down by the Supreme Court. But now that the Supreme Court has upheld the law, the tax will take
An enormous opportunity for families to reduce their estate taxes – and in some cases, save millions of dollars – will end on December 31, 2012. If there’s a chance you can take advantage of these savings, it’s wise to act immediately, because unless Congress changes the law, the window of opportunity will close permanently when the ball drops on New Year’s Eve. Between now and the end of the year, the lifetime exemption from the
Amazingly, it appears that most people who have given away real estate to family members in recent years have not filed a gift tax return with the IRS. The IRS requires a gift tax return to be filed any time a person makes a gift to someone other than a spouse of more than the annual exemption amount (which is currently $13,000). So if a person gives a piece of real estate to a child, or
Leaving an IRA to your children or grandchildren can be a great idea. That’s because withdrawals from the IRA can be “stretched out” over many years, and the IRA can grow tax-free for decades, giving your heirs a huge tax benefit. However, if you’re planning to leave an IRA to your heirs, it’s important to talk with them now about this strategy – so they understand how to take advantage of it. A recent study by
There’s a limit on how much money you can give away each year without paying gift tax. For 2012, for instance, you can give any person up to $13,000 without paying tax. Many people make annual gifts to family members as part of their estate planning. This is a smart idea, but one problem is that over time it can result in unequal gifts to different parts of a family. For instance, Edna has three children:
Many people who seek estate planning advice are owners of family businesses, and one of their chief concerns is how to pass on the business to the next generation. The fact is, there are almost as many ways to transfer a family business as there are family businesses. There’s no way to know what’s best for you without a thorough discussion of your goals, your family, and your complete financial picture. However, there’s no question that
Jerome and Sandra Murray signed a “joint will” in 1993. It provided that if one of them died, the other would inherit all the property. It also said that the will couldn’t be modified unless they both agreed to any changes. Unfortunately, the couple divorced in 2001. In the divorce settlement, Sandra received a condo in New York. In 2006, she put the condo into a trust. The trust document said that if she died, the
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