Doctors have long said that too much salt isn’t good for you. Now it appears that too much “SALT” isn’t deductible either. December 2017 brought a new federal tax law, The Tax and Jobs Act, which limited the deductibility of state and local taxes (“SALT”) to $10,000 per year. This $10,000 limitation applies for individual taxpayers and even married taxpayers filing a joint return. Some state legislatures have considered or are considering adopting proposals which allow taxpayers to contribute … [Read more...]
Trusts for Privacy
There are many good reasons to use trusts: Trusts avoid the probate process, which is a public process to change title of assets from the deceased person to the new recipient. Trusts may be helpful in tax planning. Specialized irrevocable trusts may be helpful in qualifying for Medicaid. Trusts are helpful to manage your assets during your incapacity, avoiding “guardianship” or “life probate.” Trusts may continue after death for the beneficiaries and can provide a multitude of … [Read more...]
Planning for Frequent Flyer Miles
Frequent Flyer miles and other reward points can be valuable resources. Many credit card companies give tens of thousands of miles or points for opening an account and then give miles or points for each purchase. The typical frequent flyer mile is worth 1.5 cents. While this may not sound like much, a balance of 100,000 miles would be worth $1,500. It’s not uncommon for people to have hundreds of thousands or more miles or points in different programs for airlines, hotels, and more. Here’s a … [Read more...]
You Never Know: Planning for the Unexpected
On a hot summer day, few things are more fun than swimming. Hannah Collins went swimming on such a day in the Edisto river near Charleston, South Carolina. She swam often and was nicknamed “river rat” by her father. But, while swimming one summer day, she became infected by an unseen danger, a rare amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, which is known as the “brain-eating amoeba.” Less than two weeks later, even after the best medical care, Hannah died. Here’s a link to more information. Like Hannah, … [Read more...]
Estate Planning: It’s Not Just About the Estate Taxes
When we plan our lives and our estates, it’s not all about the estate taxes. Of course, estate taxes should be taken into consideration, but there are many more important factors. That’s why the temporary doubling (until the end of 2025) of the amount which can be passed free of estate tax (to $11.18 million in 2018) does not remove the need for estate planning. Whether the exclusion amount is $5.59 million or $11.18 million is irrelevant to the vast majority of people. Here are some … [Read more...]
Carolyn at Ag PhD Field Day
With farmers coming from all around to attend the Ag PhD Field Day to learn about farming, Carolyn wants them to take a break from that to learn about estate planning. … [Read more...]
Introducing Doug Thesenvitz
This week on Coffee With Carolyn, Carolyn has a guest host - Doug Thesenvitz, our new Senior Attorney. Learn about Doug and his passion to help families with their estate planning needs. … [Read more...]
6 Important Estate Planning Considerations – Part 6: Taxes
When planning, taxes are an important consideration. Of course, that does not mean they are the only consideration, or even the most important consideration. That’s the reason taxes appear as the final estate planning consideration on the list. Taxes really break down into two components: taxes for yourself and taxes of your beneficiaries. Here are some important tax considerations when planning: Estate, gift and GST taxes: Have you considered ways to eliminate or minimize these transfer … [Read more...]
The ABC’s of Thurviving
Carolyn changes it up and instead of sharing wisdom she has learned from clients, she shares some of her own wisdom about her miraculous journey. … [Read more...]
Estate Planning is Too Important to Procrastinate
Most of us recognize that estate planning is the loving and responsible thing to do. Yet, only 44% of adult Americans even have so much as a simple Will, according to a Gallup poll. Our world is increasingly complex. It seems our lives are busier than ever. Interestingly, this may not be what leads us to procrastinate. According to Psychology Today, there are three reasons we might procrastinate: Things Get Done. We procrastinate until we are faced with a deadline and the deadline … [Read more...]
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