Are you a disabled veteran, the unremarried surviving spouse of a deceased disabled veteran, or part of a household with income and assets below certain poverty guidelines? If so, you might be eligible for financial relief. You may not have …
Currently browsing Estate Taxation
Estate Tax Exemption Increase Not So Permanent
As we have discussed in prior columns, 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. The 2012 “permanent” inflation adjusted $5 million …
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 …
Taxation of Tax-Advantaged Accounts
My daughter Elizabeth recently graduated from college and in a couple of weeks will begin her first “real” non-temporary job. For the first time in her life, Elizabeth will be able to sign up to participate in an employer retirement …
Spring Cleaning for Your Records
It’s springtime. It is that time of year to start cleaning out the closets, the garage and the shed, all of which over the winter had become a repository for all that stuff that you just didn’t have the time …
Understanding Step Up Basis
In President Obama’s State of the Union address last week, he spoke of closing tax loopholes used by the wealthy. One of those “loopholes” that is in Obama’s gun sights is what the White House has dubbed the “trust fund …
Death and Taxes
You have probably heard the quote from Benjamin Franklin, who in 1789 wrote: “in this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Franklin was actually paraphrasing Daniel Defoe from his 1726 book The Political History …
Planning with Family LLCs
You have probably heard about family limited liability companies (“LLCs”), but you may not know the reasons for which you would use them. A family LLC is an estate planning tool to transfer and/or hold assets for succeeding generations. Before …
Seven Most Common Trust Mistakes
We haven’t discussed mistakes and misconceptions that many people have regarding trusts in a while. You may have a revocable living trust in your estate plan. Living trusts are very powerful planning tools that you can use for all kinds …
How To Select an Estate Planning Attorney
Finding the right attorney to plan your estate can be a significant challenge. It may be the first contact that you will ever have with an attorney. What qualities should you look for in an estate planning attorney? Do not …