The SECURE Act and Your Estate Plan On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act). The Act became effective on January 1, 2020 and impacts retirement accounts. Among other things, the Act increases the start date for required minimum distributions (RMDs) from 70 ½ years…
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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. A Will is a way to designate a person to wind up your affairs once you have died, determine who…
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Estate Planning Awareness Week: The Importance to You and Your Family of Having an Estate Plan In 2008, Congress recognized the need for the public to understand the importance and benefits of estate planning by passing House Resolution 1499, which designated the third week of October as National Estate Planning Awareness Week. Nevertheless, according to…
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Why Living Trust Plans Don’t Work Many people think of estate planning as a one-time event. They may put a significant amount of time, money and effort into creating a great living trust-based plan, but then they file it away and forget about it. What is going to happen to these plans? They won’t work…
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529 Plans and Their Advantages A 529 plan, otherwise known as a qualified tuition plan, is a tax-sheltered way of saving for education. 529 plans are sponsored by states, state agencies, or educational institutions, and offer several estate planning benefits. Distributions from the 529 plan, if used for the beneficiary’s qualified education expenses, including tuition,…
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Your Estate Plan – Follow George Washington’s Example We talk often about the importance of a well-thought out estate plan. Such planning includes giving thought to and identifying your goals and concerns, addressing those goals in a manner that makes most sense to you and fits your needs, and communicating your plan to family. With…
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The Grantor Trust – It’s an Income Tax Concept Many kinds of trusts are used in estate planning. Trusts can be revocable or irrevocable, and their primary purpose may be to provide for such things as a means for planning for incapacity or disability, minimizing or eliminating estate tax, promoting a charitable purpose, or even…
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Who Should Handle Your Affairs? Have you taken the time to consider whom you want to name to help if you become incapacitated or pass away? Keith’s Book, “Introduction to Estate Planning – How to Protect and Pass on Your Legacy,” Bardolf & Company, 2017, provides some great insight: Healthcare Agents Healthcare decisions are often…
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State Taxation of Trusts On June 21, 2019, the US Supreme Court ruled in North Carolina Department of Revenue v. Kaestner 1992 Family Trust that the presence of in-state beneficiaries alone does not permit a state to tax trust income that has not been distributed to the beneficiaries where the beneficiaries have (1) no right…
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Are you prepared if disaster strikes? The most common response I hear when I ask if a person has finished his or her estate planning is, “I’m not worried, I have plenty of time.” People view estate planning as simply directing how their stuff is distributed. Estate planning, however, is more involved than that. Proper…
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