Here is one reason to update your estate planning documents. Parents often forget to update their wills once their children are no longer minors. Therefore, a typical will may state that if neither parent survives, the money goes outright to the kids at age 21. However, once the kids become young adults, your wealth may have increased. Consequently, you may choose to increase the age at which full inheritance can occur. Hence, a typical change may feature graduated payouts of a third of the inheritance at age 25, a third at 30 and the remainder at 35. The thinking behind…
Even with the many concerns over retirement accounts in America, it’s undeniable – IRAs and 401(k)s represent a lot of personal wealth for everyday Americans. That means retirement accounts are assets uniquely worthy of particular attention, to include when it comes to their role in your estate planning. Indeed, amongst households with at least $100,000 to invest, 60% of the household’s assets are in an IRA or 401(k). So, how ought retirement accounts factor into your estate planning. Who will inherit them? The answer is not a simple as you may think. Truth be told, the problem with retirement accounts…
According to recent research from The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, 70% of baby-boomer households will receive inheritances worth a total of $8.4 Trillion. With an average of $300,000 for most inheriting households, and an average of $1.5 million for the wealthiest inheritors, the better part of a generation is expected to see a nice bump in their assets. The question, then, is what to do about it. Ashlea Ebeling of Forbes recently approached the topic with a number of considerations, from warnings to ideas. Consider Keeping it Separate. The first thing to take stock of is how…
A pooled trust is created by the person with special needs, a parent, grandparent, guardian, or a court. However, the trust is administered by a non-profit organization. The trust is funded by the disabled beneficiary’s assets. Each beneficiary has a separate account established, but for the purposes of investment and management of funds, the trust “pools” all these various accounts into one. However, upon the death of the disabled beneficiary, if there are funds remaining in the account, the trust pays to the State of Maryland, an amount up to the total amount of Medical Assistance provided to the beneficiary. The…
Frederick, MD 
301-663-9230
