Retirement Watch Weekly
The Overlooked Triple Tax-Saving Estate Planning Tactic
Estate planners agree that one of the most underused strategies is the charitable remainder trust. That might change. New trends are making CRTs more attractive. Taxpayers with appreciated property should take a fresh look at CRTs as part of their retirement and Estate Planning strategies. In a CRT, an individual transfers appreciated property to the […]
How to Update Old Trusts
New legal tools are available to help many families stuck with out-of-date trusts. For years I’ve warned against traditional trusts that make fixed distributions or distributions only from income. Inflation and the twenty year decline in interest rates and dividends have crippled the benefits from these trusts. Beneficiaries are helpless because the trusts are irrevocable […]
Estate Planning Strategies to Help Heirs While Protecting Wealth
Incentive trusts and protective trusts are all the rage. Many people want to be generous with succeeding generations – now or in their wills – but they want some assurance the wealth won’t be wasted. People are concerned that inheriting wealth might reduce an heir’s work ethic. They don’t want the money to disappear in […]
The Medicare Overhaul: An Update
We’re getting more details about the most significant parts of the Medicare prescription drug law that was enacted in late 2003. The two key provisions are Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and prescription discount cards. The new Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for people under age 65 were reviewed in detail in January. Recall that the accounts […]
Special Tricks for Tax Season
Most of us need to get set for an unusual tax filing year. The recent tax laws, phased-in provisions, and other factors will keep you on your toes. Prepare for amended returns. Brokerage firms asked the IRS for permission to issue their Form 1099-DIVs a month late. They have to determine which dividends qualify for […]
How Old Are You?
Your birthday isn’t always the day you get older, according to the IRS and other government agencies. You have to check closely to be sure how old you are. Most of the time your birthday is your birthday. But the Social Security Administration and some other government agencies use what is called the common law […]
Estate Planning Strategies: How to Cut Estate Taxes by Selling Assets
Reduce estate and gift taxes by selling assets? You can do it, and picking the right strategy will provide more benefits for your heirs. Now is a good time to consider an asset sale, even an unusually good time. A sale freezes the estate’s value at the current price of the assets. With a recovering […]
How Bad Trustee and Executor Choices in your Will and Trusts Can Destroy Estate Planning
NFL superstar Johnny Unitas passed away in September, 2002, and his estate has been a mess since. Unitas’s families from two marriages are at odds. His son and namesake is fighting to get the company father and son ran back from the estate’s executors. The executors are Unitas’s longtime accountant and attorney. Unitas and John, […]
