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…
The Wealth Counselor For many clients, pets are members of the family. These clients often say that if something happens to them, they are more concerned with what will happen to their pets than to their children or spouse. This issue of The Wealth Counselor examines the issues surrounding caring for pets after the disability…
The Wealth Counselor Before 2007, a non-spouse beneficiary of a qualified plan was stuck taking distributions under the terms of the plan, which typically required full distribution within five or fewer years of the participant’s death. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA 2006) authorized non-spouse beneficiaries (before it was only surviving spouses) to roll…
The Wealth Counselor The last issue of The Wealth Counselor examined trusts and the asset protection benefits provided to trust makers and their beneficiaries through the utilization of ongoing trusts. This issue of The Wealth Counselor addresses related and important questions about the taxation of trusts, which are important to all wealth planning professionals. Trusts…
The Wealth Counselor This issue of The Wealth Counselor addresses a topic that is important to clients and all wealth planning professionals – trusts. When used properly, trusts can provide significant advantages to clients and to the advisors who recommend them. Given the numerous types of trusts, this newsletter explores the general advantages of trusts…
The Wealth Counselor A prior issue of The Wealth Counselor addressed the planning opportunities that exist with planning for Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California), particularly where the client’s advisors work together to create a plan that addresses all aspects of the client’s planning needs. This issue addresses a related topic, VA Aid and Attendance pension benefits.…
The Wealth Counselor This month’s issue of The Wealth Counselor addresses a topic that many professionals do not understand fully, life settlements. For the right clients, a life settlement offers a significant advantage over the alternatives – and one that the client and the planning team should at least consider. Life Settlements – The Basics…
The Wealth Counselor The last issue of The Wealth Counselor addressed the significant need for clients to plan for the possibility of disability, and how proper disability planning more often than not involves the coordination of financial and legal solutions. This issue addresses a related and often misunderstood topic, Medicaid planning. What is Medicaid? Medicaid…
The Wealth Counselor No one likes to think about the possibility of their own disability or the disability of a loved one. However, as we’ll see below, the statistics are clear that we should all plan for at least a temporary disability. This issue of The Wealth Counselor examines the eye-opening statistics surrounding disability and…
The Wealth Counselor Planning for tax-qualified plans, which includes IRAs, 401(k)s and qualified retirement plans, requires a careful examination of the potential taxes that impact these assets. Unlike most other assets that receive a “basis step-up” to current fair market value upon the owner’s death, IRAs, 401(k)s and other qualified retirement plans do not step-up…
The Wealth Counselor This issue of The Wealth Counselor explores many of the common misperceptions about trust owned life insurance – plus a process for you to add significant value for your clients by incorporating policy reviews of trust owned life insurance. Although trust owned life insurance (TOLI) is a common planning vehicle for high net worth…
The Wealth Counselor This month’s issue of The Wealth Counselor examines the unique planning requirements of families with children, grandchildren or other family members (such as parents) with special needs. There are many misconceptions in this area that result in costly mistakes in planning for these special needs beneficiaries. It is therefore incumbent upon us…
The Wealth Counselor Last month’s issue of The Wealth Counselor examined the various educational savings vehicles available to clients, including 529 plans, UGMA/UTMAs, Coverdell Education IRAs and life insurance. Using life insurance as an education savings vehicle prompted several questions about other uses for life insurance. Therefore, this issue of the Wealth Counselor examines some…
The Wealth Counselor Last month’s issue of The Wealth Counselor examined the many benefits of 529 Plans, including the income tax and gift and estate tax benefits of these popular educational savings vehicles. There are, however, several other educational savings vehicles that clients should consider; this issue examines some of these other vehicles – and…
The Wealth Counselor Whether your client is a parent with future educational obligations for young ones, or perhaps a loving aunt, uncle, grandparent, or stepparent, now more than ever 529 plans are an attractive tool for the escalating costs of education, as well as for income and estate planning purposes. This is because one of…
