The Wealth Counselor Visit EstatePlanning.com for free resources, including a one-hour webinar on Planning Opportunities Not to Miss in 2012, November 16, 2012, at 2 p.m. E.T. Does it seem like you are hearing more about estate planning lately? Well, you probably are. The financial press and estate planning professionals (lawyers, CPAs and financial advisors) have all…
DetailsThe Wealth Counselor 2012 is truly an exceptional year to do estate planning. The estate, gift, income and generation skipping transfer (GST) tax laws are the most favorable to taxpayers since the 1940s, or possibly ever, and are scheduled to become far less favorable in 2013. That gives taxpayers like you just five more months…
DetailsThe Wealth Advisor You have signed all of your estate planning documents and, if your plan includes trusts, completed their funding. You sit back, relax, and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with completing that task. But don’t bask in that feeling for too long—estate planning is an ongoing process, not a one-time event.…
DetailsPrivate Counsel For the vast majority of Americans, planning is not discretionary. These individuals continue to have – or perhaps for the first time have – personal concerns that they need to address now because these concerns are unrelated to the economy. In fact, some of these concerns may even be made worse by our current economic…
DetailsThe Wealth Advisor Almost everyone knows someone who had a problem and lost everything. Claims can, for example, allege professional liability, responsibility for a car accident, or unpaid creditors. Whether meritorious or not, defense can be enormously costly. With our litigious society, with limited risk for those making liability claims, asset protection planning has become…
DetailsThe Wealth Advisor Actually, they do have something very important in common: your estate plan. In this issue of The Wealth Advisor, we will look at what the recent debt ceiling debate can tell us about the estate tax. Then we will look at several specialized trusts designed to solve particular estate planning problems, including…
DetailsThe Wealth Advisor With the rash of bank failures, you may wonder whether – and to what extent – the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) will protect your bank accounts. Fortunately, new rules from the FDIC clarify how you can ensure maximum FDIC insurance coverage. You may need to modify your planning slightly to take…
DetailsThe Wealth Advisor With the political and economic climate as it is in the summer of 2008, we are not likely to see total repeal of the federal estate tax in the foreseeable future. However, both Republican and Democratic Presidential candidates support estate tax reform. Realistically, such reform is at least one year away, but…
DetailsThere was a recent change in the tax law that you might not be familiar with – yet it may entitle you to significant tax savings. Beginning January 1, 2008 and continuing through December 31, 2010 (unless extended by Congress), a zero tax rate may apply to long-term capital gain and dividend income that would…
DetailsThe Wealth Advisor For many pet owners, pets are members of the family. These individuals 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 Advisor examines the issues surrounding caring for pets after the…
DetailsThe Wealth Advisor This issue of The Wealth Advisor addresses a topic that is important to many Americans yet is sometimes misunderstood – trusts. In the right circumstances, trusts can provide significant advantages to those who utilize them, particularly in protecting trust assets from the creditors of beneficiaries. Admittedly this can be a complex topic,…
DetailsThe Wealth Advisor 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 Advisor examines the eye-opening statistics surrounding disability and…
DetailsThe Wealth Advisor The purpose of this newsletter is to inform you of changes in the law and to provide planning information and general financial news. These newsletters also give me a chance to share new techniques to enhance your planning, as well as to help you to stay current with tactics designed to maximize…
DetailsEstate planning is not only about having a plan in place to deal with what happens after a client’s death, it is also about having a plan in place to deal with what happens if a client becomes mentally incapacitated. In this issue you will learn: What happens without an incapacity plan. The essential documents…
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