Articles Categorized as Estate Planning

In Charitable Giving Part I, I outlined developments in the tax laws that impact charitable giving. As a generous group of people, the reason why we give is not solely for the tax deduction, right? S... continue reading »

Several years ago, I wrote an article about charitable giving, and it began with the statement: “We are a generous group of people”. I believe this remains true. In so many conversations with friends and family, I still hear of giving to charitable organizations in many ways, including time, ... continue reading »

Many of us have thought about an estate plan and having some documents in place to help our family settle our estate after we pass away. Then life happens and we push that plan a little further down the list of “to dos.” Some of you have gone beyond thinking about it and have even had an ap... continue reading »

Unfortunately, we live during a time when financial scams are everywhere. Criminals target us with wide-ranging schemes through our cell phones, social media, and the mail. The ultimate goal is to steal money from us. We are well beyond the annoying phone calls from telemarketers at the dinner ho... continue reading »

I often have the question from clients: Is it a good idea to transfer our home to our children before we die? It is important to understand what is driving this question to help us better advise clients.I often hear that parents want to avoid probate, provide some inheritance to children and they... continue reading »

In previous articles, we have stressed the importance of a completing an estate plan, one that is tailored for you and your family. We have explained the positive benefits of putting key estate plan documents in place and how to integrate your assets through retitling and beneficiary designations... continue reading »

For most families, one of the goals of estate planning is to minimize future turmoil that may occur after they pass away by addressing how their assets and estate will be settled upon their death. It is often very helpful to have mom and dad make those hard decisions now and not leave a mess for ... continue reading »

As the U.S. faced the growing public health and economic crisis brought on by COVID-19, Congress passed the CARES Act in March 2020. The goal of the $2 trillion relief package was to deliver economic assistance directly to families and businesses and as quickly as possible. We have all heard in t... continue reading »

You know the Benjamin Franklin quote “there are only two things certain in life: death and taxes.” All of my estate planning appointments have some consideration of taxes. We are faced with sales tax, income tax, estate tax, capital gains tax, gift tax and property tax to name a few. Even sma... continue reading »