Last week, one of the questions we discussed that I and my partner Buzz Suuppi get all the time is: How much assets do I need for a trust? What we are really being asked is: Should my estate plan …
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Protecting Inheritances
Many people use joint ownership and beneficiary designations as their own do-it-yourself estate plan. Sometimes it works, if all the stars line up. Unfortunately for many families, the stars do not line up. We see time and time again situations …
Michigan’s New Asset Protection Trust
Trusts have always been great estate planning tools. You can get all kinds of protections for your beneficiaries after you are gone, such as protection from creditors, divorces or remarriages. Although your beneficiaries could have access to the assets of …
Options for Leaving an Inheritance to a Spouse
Do you plan on leaving anything to your spouse after you are gone? If you do, you have lots of options. There are many ways to leave an inheritance to your spouse. Most married couples, especially long-term married couples, have …
Trusts as IRA Beneficiaries
There seems to be a lot of misconceptions in the financial advisor community about naming trusts as beneficiaries of retirement accounts such as IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s and 457(b)s. Even though the IRS issued final regulations regarding retirement account minimum distribution …
Choose the Right Person for the Job
You are doing your estate plan. You have to choose people for certain duties. You may be tempted to name your spouse or the kids in birth order because you think that this is the fair thing to do. But …
Canadian Taxes Different from Ours
In St. Clair County, we are just across the river from Canada. There are many Americans, including myself, who regularly cross the border into Canada for dinner, shopping or entertainment. With the American dollar usually so much stronger than the …
You May Own Life Insurance Company Stock and Not Know It
Are you receiving annual or quarterly dividends from an insurance company? You have one or more life insurance policies with that company. Those life insurance policies have cash value that has built up over the years. Those dividends that you …
Get a Second Opinion with Annuities
You may have spent your hard-earned savings on one or more deferred or variable annuities. The likelihood is that they were sold to you as an “investment”. If you are like most annuity purchasers, what you were not told is …
I’m a Trust Beneficiary – What Can I Expect?
Mom or Dad has passed away and left a trust. You are named a beneficiary of the trust. Your brother or sister is the trustee. Do you really know what a trust is or does? Do you know what to …