Why Updating Beneficiary Designations is Important Beneficiaries are an important part of wills and trusts, but beneficiary designations can become a huge problem if they are not updated. Beneficiary designations on your retirement accounts, IRAs, annuities and life insurance policies override wills or trust provisions. This means that people you don’t intend to inherit your…
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Our Story: New Name, Same Values The story of our law firm begins in 1946 when Bill Scott came back from the Navy and went into partnership with a law school mate, Ted James. Bill later practiced with Wayne Linnell and Norman Newhall. In 1980 Keith came back to Montana after working in Texas and…
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New Year’s Resolutions We all make New Year’s resolutions. Losing weight, exercising, learning a new language . . . . Few of us think of our estate plan, but we should. Here are 8 things you can do to get your estate plan on track: 1. Will or Trust. Make sure you have an up…
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Myth: A Will Avoids Probate Many people believe that once they have created a Will–whether drafted by an experienced attorney or using a do-it-yourself solution or online form–they have avoided probate. Unfortunately, they are wrong. What is a Will? A Will is a way to designate a person to wind up your affairs once you…
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Giving to Charity Giving to Charity We are all blessed to live in a giving community. Over the years, I have had the privilege of serving on several non-profit boards in Great Falls, including Community Help Line, Children’s Museum of Montana, Montana School for the Deaf and Blind Foundation, Great Falls Public Schools Foundation, and…
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Estate Tax Exemption and Annual Gift Tax Exclusion for 2023 Official Estate and Gift Tax Limits for 2023 The Internal Revenue Service has announced new inflation-adjusted estate and gift tax limits for 2023: The estate and gift tax exemption is $12,920,000 million per individual, up from $12,060,000 in 2022. That means an individual could leave…
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Does equal mean fair in estate planning? Our clients, as parents, want to treat their children fairly and equally. Splitting assets equally among children may be easy, but is it fair or equitable? Equal and fair can be vastly different depending on the estate plan, and this is where it can become difficult because in…
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The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 – As Proposed The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 as Proposed – No Direct Effect on Federal Estate Taxes, Gift Taxes, or Generation-Skipping Transfer Taxes. The “Inflation Reduction Act of 2022,” which is a significantly scaled back version of the proposed “Build Back Better Act” that failed to pass…
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Planning Checklist For Those Assisting Elderly Family Members I gave a presentation a few years ago at a local assisted living facility. The topic was powers of attorney and guardianships and conservatorships. Half of the attendees were children of residents at the assisted living facility. Based on the questions that they asked me; it was…
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Estate and Long-Term Care Planning – Lessons From Baseball Another baseball season is upon us. I’m always excited about the new season because that means warmer weather has arrived in Montana and my hopes are still alive, at least for a while, that my favorite team will win the World Series. My wife Rhonda and…
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