Estate Planning Articles

In 2020, each person can give away $11.58 million during life. Whatever portion they haven’t used during life, they can use it at death. However, that generous exclusion will be cut in half at the end of 2025. Beginning in 2026, the exclusion will be only $5 million adjusted for inflation from the 2011 base year. If you use the exclusion before it falls back,...

Before the pandemic, Americans were as mobile as ever. In the prior decade, millions of Americans moved each year. Here’s a link for more information on moving in America. Often, people wonder, “What happens to my estate plan if I move?” Well, it depends. If you move within the same state, your documents are valid and the planning will still be intact, as well. If you move...

When you prepare your estate plan, typically there are formalities required. In most states, a Will must be signed by the testator (the person whose property is governed by the Will) and that signature must be witnessed by two people. The rules vary a little from state to state. For example, in some states, three witnesses are required. In other states, a Will need not...

Maybe you grew up without much. You worked hard. You earned a good education. You succeeded in life even though the streets weren’t paved with gold where you grew up. Maybe you even grew up in a very impoverished, oppressed community. Now you (and your spouse if you’re married) have accumulated enough so you’re comfortable. Maybe you’re not a billionaire, but you feel like you’ve...

Maybe you grew up without much. You worked hard. You earned a good education. You succeeded in life even though the streets weren’t paved with gold where you grew up. In fact, maybe you grew up in a very impoverished, oppressed community. Now you (and your spouse if you’re married) have accumulated enough so you’re comfortable. Maybe you’re not a billionaire, but you feel like...

A Power of Attorney is a document by which you appoint someone as your “Agent” to act on your behalf. If that Agent is unwilling or unable to act, the document can appoint one or more successor Agents. But what is a “HIPAA” Power? First, “HIPAA” is the Health Insurance Portability and Authorization Act of 1996. That Act brought about many things, including enhanced privacy...

Maybe you grew up without much. You worked hard. You earned a good education. You succeeded in life even though the streets weren’t paved with gold where you grew up. In fact, maybe you grew up in a very impoverished, oppressed community. Now you (and your spouse if you’re married) have accumulated enough so you’re comfortable. Maybe you’re not a billionaire, but you feel like...

First, what’s a Power of Attorney? It’s a document by which you appoint someone as your “Agent” to act on your behalf. If that Agent is unwilling or unable to act, the document can appoint one or more successor Agents. In other words, you give someone else (the Agent) powers you inherently already have yourself. With a Financial Power of Attorney, otherwise known as a...

This is the second in a three-part series of articles on Powers of Attorney. The first article examined the Financial Power of Attorney. This second article examines the Healthcare Power of Attorney and Advance Directive. The third article in the series will focus on a “HIPAA” Power of Attorney. These three documents are the keystone in even the most basic estate plan. As outlined in...

The spread of the coronavirus has wreaked havoc on financial markets around the world. While nobody would seek out such a decline, it could provide opportunities for some people. This is the second of a two-part series on strategies to consider under these circumstances. This first article looked at gifting and electing alternate valuation. This second article looks at the Grantor Retained Annuity Trust, or...