For most people, entering the realm of estate planning can feel a bit like traveling as a tourist into another culture. Because the language itself is unfamiliar, asking a question can result in an answer that is equally confusing.
The ‘HEMS’ (health, education, maintenance, support) standard in estate planning is used to guide trustees in how/when they should release funds to a beneficiary.
Modern trusts can be drafted, and existing trusts can be modified, to provide flexibility allowing a family the ability to navigate an unknown future and preserve family legacies intergenerationally.
Sometimes only taking the minimum IRA distribution can be a costly mistake. When deciding how much to withdraw this year, you need to consider the big picture. For some people, it makes sense to go big.
You created your revocable living trust to hold your assets. You did so because of the probate avoidance and other benefits. You may have included sophisticated tax-planning provisions in your trust.
Many people are under the impression that since they have a trust, they don’t need to do anything else. That’s not true. The trust you created years ago may not be appropriate for you now.
If you have a parent over the age of, say, 65, thoughts about their future may have started to creep into your mind. However, because end-of-life planning can be emotional and overwhelming, it’s tempting to put these conversations off—and even more pleasing to avoid them altogether.
If you’re merely dipping your toe in cryptocurrency, it can be hard to imagine your crypto as something worth talking to an estate attorney about. But that $100 in fun money could grow to a significant percentage of your total investments, sometimes overnight.
Unless you spend your winters in Aspen and your summers in the Hamptons, you probably don’t have to worry about paying federal estate taxes on an inheritance. In 2021, the federal estate tax doesn’t kick in unless an estate exceeds $11.7 million.
At some point in your life, there’s a good chance you’ll be tasked with acting as the executor of an estate. The designation is both an honor and an obligation.
