Families who have a family member with a disability must plan for the future very carefully. How assets are left after your death can have a tremendous impact on the quality of life for that person. In the past, a Will may have been enough, but times have changed. To protect a person with special needs, a well-defined estate plan is vital. How A Special Needs Trust Works A Special Needs Trust allows a parent, grandparent, family member or guardian to provide funds for a disabled child without … [Read more...] about Planning for Loved Ones with Disabilities
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Avoiding Estate Planning Mistakes
Estate planning is an ongoing process – when life changes, so should your plan. Many believe that once estate planning documents, such as a will, living trust or a durable power of attorney, are executed, their estate plan is complete. This is not the case – in fact, there are several mistakes that people tend to make in estate planning: 1. Failing to keep documents up to date. Changes such as marriage, divorce or the death of a spouse, beneficiary or executor should trigger a … [Read more...] about Avoiding Estate Planning Mistakes
Confronting Medi-Cal Myths
When it comes to Medi-Cal planning, there’s a lot of misinformation that circulates. Here are a few common myths we have heard: Medicare will cover my nursing home expenses, so I don’t need to worry about Medi-Cal. This is not true – - Medicare only covers very few, limited long term care expenses. So, unless you have long-term care insurance or can afford to pay for your care out-of-pocket, you’ll need to find out about Medi-Cal and other public benefits. In order to qualify for … [Read more...] about Confronting Medi-Cal Myths
A Federal Estate Tax Lesson from a Surprising Source – Hooters
The federal estate tax can be reduced or even eliminated with advanced estate planning measures for any estate. In fact, the federal estate tax is a voluntary tax; if you don’t plan, you volunteer to pay it. Here is a memorable federal estate tax lesson from the owner of Hooters, the infamous restaurant chain. When Robert H. Brooks died, his family sold Hooters, in part, because was it worth approximately $250 million dollars and the estate tax, at that time, was 46% or $115 million … [Read more...] about A Federal Estate Tax Lesson from a Surprising Source – Hooters
Special Needs Children and Social Security Benefits
Most families with children of special needs rely on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits administered by the Social Security Administration to some extent to provide for the children after the parents pass away. For some families, this is the only plan that they have. However, proections by some suggest that the Social Security Trust Fund may run out of money. It may be time to make other plans. Parents of children with special needs can create Trust funds for their children that … [Read more...] about Special Needs Children and Social Security Benefits
Gifting Can Be Complicated
By now, most wealthy people know that the current gift tax exemption lifetime limit in 2022 of $12.02 million. This is in addition to the $16,000 annual gift exclusion per gift that is in effect in 2022. However, a good gifting plan is not as simple as just giving away the maximum amount of money that you can. Before gifting anything, you need to consider how much you can afford to give away. To know that, you will need to make an estimate of how much money you will need for your own … [Read more...] about Gifting Can Be Complicated
Decanting: It’s not Just About Wine
Decanting is a familiar process in winemaking as well as in chemistry. However, it is also a sophisticated process in estate planning. California recently passed legislation enabling it's use in the state. Question 1: What is decanting? Decanting is the process of transferring property from one trust to another. Specifically, the term applies when a trustee transfers property from one irrevocable trust to a new trust that has terms different than the original. Question 2: Why is … [Read more...] about Decanting: It’s not Just About Wine
Estate Planning Concerns of the LGBTQ+ Community and Solutions
If you’re an unmarried partner in a LGBTQ+ couple, you know that if one partner becomes ill or passes away, the life you’ve worked to build together could be in jeopardy. California law doesn’t contain any default provisions that let unmarried partners inherit from each other unless they are registered domestic partners. Similarly, except for registered domestic partners, California law does not contain any default provisions that allow one unmarried partner to make medical or financial … [Read more...] about Estate Planning Concerns of the LGBTQ+ Community and Solutions
Planning Tip: Make a List of Your Trust Assets
A primary benefit of creating a Revocable Living Trust is to avoid having your estate go through Probate Court. It's not something that you do for yourself. Probate is not a hassle for the deceased. Instead, you do it for your loved ones you leave behind. You do not want them to have to go through the expense and delays of Probate. Since you are already concerned about sparing your loved ones from unneeded trouble, why not take it one step further? One of the biggest problems with handling a … [Read more...] about Planning Tip: Make a List of Your Trust Assets
IRA Distributions and Children: A Probem and a Solution
Retirement accounts play an important role in estate planning, one of the main benefits being that retirement accounts avoid probate, as they pass to a named beneficiary using a beneficiary form that you complete when you open your account. IRAs, Individual Retirement Accounts, are not only powerful estate planning tools, but they, of course, are great vehicles for saving for retirement with tax benefits. In fact, the income tax on an IRA is payable only when funds are withdrawn from the … [Read more...] about IRA Distributions and Children: A Probem and a Solution
