August 10, 2008. Do you remember: Michael Phelps won his record 8th gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, Pádraig Harrington won the rain delayed PGA Championship at Oakland Hills Country Club, soul singer and actor Isaac Hayes died, AND my …
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Check State Laws Before Changing State Residency in Second Marriages
If you change your state of residency without doing your homework, you may have unintended consequences if you have remarried. You may be like many Michigan seniors who have entered into a second (or third or more) marriage. Many widows …
Beware of the Five-Fee Estate Planner
You go to your estate planner to have your financial and health care powers of attorney, will and trust drafted or updated. Oftentimes, it is challenging to choose the people who are going to handle your finances and property when …
New Tax Rules for Trusts and Estate in 2018
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, signed by President Trump on December 22, 2017, made numerous changes to the taxation of trusts and estates for 2018. The new tax act was business focused and overall was helpful to …
Are You Prepared?
You have probably heard of the Scout motto, “Be Prepared.” The motto was devised in 1907 by Robert Baden-Powell, an English soldier who founded Scouting. He was once asked the inevitable follow-up question, “Prepared for what?” His response was “Why, …
Wouldn’t it be Nice to Have a Personal Financial Assistant?
Are you a senior and still handling your own bills, investments and finances? If so, studies have shown that you likely believe that you can handle your financial matters as well as you could when you were in your 40’s …
Hope for the Best, Plan for the Worst
When life happens, are you prepared? Do you just react to life events or do you have a plan in place? By being proactive, you can soften the adverse effects of unexpected events. Last week, we had an unanticipated event …
Why Would I Want to Go Through Probate
I had two clients come through our offices last week in which both plans are designed and intended to go through probate after death. For most of our clients, avoiding the time, cost and lack of privacy of probate court …
You Thought Your Trust-Owned Home Was Insured
When you signed your trust, you felt pretty good about having it done. You felt even better when you deeded your home into your trust. You breathed a sigh of relief because your trust now owns your home and you …
Protecting Special Needs Inheritances
I had a client come in this week who was the Social Security Payee for her disabled daughter. Her daughter was on Social Security Disability, Medicare and Medicaid. The father of her daughter recently passed away and was leaving a …