The Wealth Counselor The “blended family” comprises a fast-growing segment of US households. Whether an attorney or investment advisor, fine-tune your intake or initial interview process to determine the desirability of representing a blended-family client, assess the accepted client to determine your counseling strategy, and hit the ground running with the information you need to…
The Wealth Counselor The collision between economics and demographics is increasing client concerns about running out of money in retirement. Defined benefit plans are pretty much a thing of the past, and people are living longer. Clients need income that is sustainable and that they will not outlive. The cost of health care continues to…
The Wealth Counselor With the federal gift and estate tax exemption currently at $5.25 million per person ($10.5 million for married couples), some clients and potential clients with “smaller” estates may wonder if they need any estate planning. But there are many reasons to do estate planning other than to avoid estate taxes. In fact,…
The Wealth Counselor The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (which became law on January 2, 2013) made permanent the temporary estate/gift/generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions established in December 2010, increased the rate on non-exempt estates/gifts/generation-skipping transfers to 40% and introduced substantial new income tax burdens on high income taxpayers and trusts. In addition, 2013 is…
The Wealth Counselor The Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) provides substantial income and estate tax benefits to the married residents of the nine “community property” states. A tenth state – Alaska – allows married couples to opt in to the community property regime and reap these benefits. In addition, Alaska offers the married residents of the…
The Wealth Counselor Many clients have large IRAs and retirement plan accounts and need special estate planning for these assets. A 2009 study by the Investment Company Institute found that retirement plans account for 34% of all household financial assets, up from 14% in 1978; IRAs alone account for more than 10% of all household…
The Wealth Counselor “Small businesses,” that is, those that have less than 500 employees, comprise 99.9 percent of all businesses in the United States. The owners of these businesses will, someday, exit their businesses due to retirement, incapacity or death. But most are so busy working that they don’t slow down and think about business…
The Wealth Counselor On January 2, 2013, the President signed into law the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (the 2012 Tax Act) to deal with the so-called “fiscal cliff.” The 2012 Tax Act included revisions to estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (“GST”) tax laws and income tax laws that will affect estate planning for…
The Wealth Counselor Washington’s negotiations about 2013 tax laws are getting lots of press. As estate planning professionals, we are often asked our opinions about what the 2013 estate tax laws might be and the resulting implications for our clients. But for the vast majority of Americans, what the estate and gift tax laws will…
The Wealth Counselor Year-end tax planning is always important, but this year it is especially difficult because of uncertainty about what the tax laws will be for 2013. The Bush-era tax cuts are scheduled to expire on December 31 and the President and Congress have once again delayed taking any action. No one knows which,…
The Wealth Counselor Charitable giving is discretionary spending. It is affected by both the economy and the income tax rates. Not surprisingly, charitable giving has been down in recent years, but this does not mean clients are less charitably inclined. Many just need to be pointed in the right direction. With the $5.12 million transfer…
The Wealth Counselor Helping clients build, manage and protect their wealth is the goal of each member of the advisory team—financial/investment advisors, CPAs, attorneys and insurance agents. Estate planning is part of this larger process and, as a result, should be on each advisor’s checklist for every client. In this issue of The Wealth Counselor,…
The Wealth Counselor When a closely held business is a significant part of a client’s estate, as is often the case, business succession planning becomes an important part of the client’s estate planning. Estate planning issues include how to turn the business into cash for the owner’s retirement, who will take over or buy the…
The Wealth Counselor Planning for the possibility of disability is probably the most overlooked part of estate planning. While many people will give serious consideration to estate planning for their death, few will seriously consider planning for their disability. Yet disability planning should be the more important part of estate planning from the client’s perspective…
The Wealth Counselor Asset protection is vitally important in our ever more litigious society, and more wealth planning teams are needed who understand the intricacies of this area and can collaboratively implement advanced strategies. Whether creating an entire plan for the client or creating additional asset protection measures added on to an existing plan, you…
The Wealth Counselor A large part of many financial service professionals’ practices is helping clients with business succession planning. Yet only 29% of these professionals have created a formal practice transition plan for their own businesses. In this edition of The Wealth Counselor, we will look at some of the steps involved in transition planning…
The Wealth Counselor The next nine months are an exceptional window of opportunity for your clients to make family wealth transfers. The federal gift and estate tax exemption is $5,120,000, and both income tax rates and interest rates are at the lowest point in a generation. With federal deficit spending also at record levels, tax…
IRS Updates Applicable Federal Rates for April 2012Summary The IRS has announced the Applicable Federal Rates for April 2012, including the Section 7520 rate of 1.4%. Relevant Documents |
The Wealth Counselor Our clients expect their estate planning will cause their property to go to whom they want, the way they want, when they want and that it will minimize the impact of taxes, professional fees and court costs. They also expect their estate planning will help them keep control of their property while…
The Wealth Counselor According to the College Board, the average cost of attending an in-state four-year public college in 2011-2012 is more than $19,000 per year; for a four-year private college it is nearly $40,000 per year. Over the last decade, published tuition and fees for in-state students at public four-year colleges and universities increased…
The Wealth Counselor You want a satisfying, long-term relationship with clients, meaningful recurring revenue and referrals from existing clients. Your clients want a trusted advisor relationship with you and they want coordinated estate, financial and tax planning that protects them, their family, and their business interests. A client update process or financial control system is…
The Wealth Counselor Coordinating retirement plans with wealth transfer planning can be challenging. This is primarily because retirement accounts are driven by income tax laws designed to encourage Americans to accumulate wealth for retirement, not for transferring wealth upon death. In this edition of The Wealth Counselor, we will examine some of the critical rules…
The Wealth Counselor Most professionals who work with trusts have plenty of “nightmare stories” about trustees chosen by clients for their irrevocable trusts. No doubt this is because trustees are often chosen without careful consideration of the qualifications required. In this issue of The Wealth Counselor, we will examine who can, who should, and who…
The Wealth Counselor Asset protection planning is a growing area of practice for many members of the estate planning team. But, it is not something that one member of the team can do alone. It may not take a village, but it does take a team. In addition to specific legal strategies that may be…
The Wealth Counselor Revocable Living, Irrevocable Life Insurance, Charitable Lead, and Grantor Retained Annuity – these are trust descriptors that are familiar to estate planning professionals. However, there are many less well-known types of trusts that clients may ask about or benefit from having. Some of those other types of trusts will fill an estate…
