Your wills, trusts, powers of attorney and other documents (including health care directives) should be reviewed and updated every few years – or whenever you experience significant life events like a marriage, divorce, move to another state, birth of a child or grandchild, etc.
As the old saying goes, “If you’re giving while you’re living, then you’re knowing where it’s going.” But the new tax legislation passed in December makes gifting even more attractive for wealthy families. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal, “The $5 Million Tax Break,” points out why lifetime gifting is suddenly so attractive under the new laws. It’s a good article, worth reading, but here are the high points, in a nut-shell: For the next two years, the gift-tax exemption jumps to $5 million from $1 million for individuals, and to $10 million (up from $2 million) for…
Estate planning is for everyone, regardless of age or net worth.
These special types of trusts allow you to supplement any government benefits to which your
loved one may be entitled, without disqualifying them from receiving those benefits.
Every month, the IRS quietly makes a mostly-unheralded announcement of the current Applicable Federal Rate (AFR) for determining the present value of an annuity, an interest for life or a term of year, or a remainder or reversionary interest under Section 7520. Ha! If you made it through that sentence, then you already know why this announcement goes mostly un-noticed by most mainstream media! However, if you are charitably-inclined, or want to make a large, nontaxable gift to your heirs, it could be very important for you to know that the November rate is set at an all-time low of…
During the seminar, the marketer describes the benefits of living trusts and repeatedly states that every seminar participant should have a living trust.
One area where it is crucial to make sure the premarital agreement is integrated with the estate plan is with regard to the residence. For example, while many premarital agreements provide that the surviving spouse may remain in the residence, the house may be in a revocable living trust that goes directly to the children. To avoid such conflicts, Ganderson tries to have the estate plan completed before the marriage. One option for clients who want to allow a surviving spouse to continue to reside in the home is for the wealthy spouse to set up a trust to provide…
A client who is considering a second (or third or more) marriage often has more complicated estate planning needs than a single client or a client who has been married only once. A premarital agreement can be key to protecting a client's assets, but the attorney must make sure the agreement is integrated with the client's estate plan. At the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys' 2010 Elder and Special Needs Law Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida, earlier this year, Virginia estate planning attorney Martin J. Ganderson discussed how to plan for a second marriage and outlined the various estate…
We offer a free Estate Organizer Kit, which anyone is welcome request and use to help keep estate assets organized.
The process can certainly appear daunting at first, but the key is recognizing that you do need to plan, and the time to start is now.”
Frederick, MD 
301-663-9230