This is a bonus part of a series of articles on updating your plan. The first article examined the importance of updating your Powers of Attorney, both Financial and Medical. The second part of the series looked at the importance of updating your primary estate planning document, such as your Trust or Will. Together, these documents are the keystone in even the most basic estate plan and it’s important to keep them up-to-date. However, it’s also important to make sure beneficiary designations … [Read more...] about Updating Your Plan: Beneficiary Designations
Updating Your Plan: Your Trust or Will
This is the second in a two-part series of articles on updating your plan. This first article examined the importance of updating the Powers of Attorney, both Financial and Medical. This second part of the series looks at the importance of updating your primary estate planning document, such as your trust or will. Together, these documents form the core of even the most basic estate plan and it’s important to keep them up-to-date. Every state has laws controlling what happens to your assets … [Read more...] about Updating Your Plan: Your Trust or Will
Updating Your Plan: Powers of Attorney
This is the first in a two-part series of articles on updating your plan. This first article examines the importance of updating Powers of Attorney, both Financial and Medical. The second part of the series looks at the importance of updating your primary estate planning documents, such as your Trust or Will. Together, these documents are the keystone in even the most basic estate plan and it’s important to keep them up-to-date. First, what’s a Power of Attorney? It’s a document by which you … [Read more...] about Updating Your Plan: Powers of Attorney
It’s Better to Give, Especially This Year
Ordinarily, charitable deductions are only available as an itemized deduction. When you file your federal taxes, you have an option to take itemized deductions or the standard deduction. The standard deduction in 2020 is $12,400 for an individual and $24,800 for a married couple filing jointly. In other words, even if you don’t have any itemized deductions, you can still claim the standard deduction. So, in order to itemize your deductions, you’d need more of the itemized deductions than the … [Read more...] about It’s Better to Give, Especially This Year
A Time for Thanks and Community
Thanksgiving is a time for giving thanks and for community with family and friends. While 2020 has been a difficult year for many of us, there is still much for which we can be grateful. As we gather around the Thanksgiving table with our loved ones, let’s be grateful for the food on our table and the companionship of our loved ones around us, both those seated at the table and those joining us electronically. While the pandemic has altered this traditional holiday and the way many of us … [Read more...] about A Time for Thanks and Community
What the 2020 Election Could Mean for Your Estate Plan
How did the 2020 elections shape the political landscape and what does that changed landscape mean for your estate plan? First, at the top of the ticket, it appears Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are the new President-Elect and Vice-President Elect, with an apparent 306 electoral votes to Donald Trump and Mike Pence’s apparent 232 electoral votes. Democrats retained control of the House of Representatives, although with a narrower majority. The Senate is a more complicated matter. Republicans … [Read more...] about What the 2020 Election Could Mean for Your Estate Plan
Planning for California’s Proposition 19
Everyone had eyes at the top of the ticket on November 3. But other elections also had a significant impact on people’s lives. In California, voters had many propositions, including Proposition 19. As of November 9, 2020, Proposition 19 was headed to passage by a margin of 51.2% to 48.8% with 84% of the vote counted. Proposition 19 is a ballot measure in California to modify Propositions 13 and 58. Proposition 13 passed in 1978. Proposition 13 limited property tax increases to 2% annually … [Read more...] about Planning for California’s Proposition 19
Preparing for the Unexpected…and the Eventual
All of us face difficulties and tragedies in our lives. Some of these difficulties are expected and some are unexpected. 2020 has been a year of many unexpected difficulties. While all of us get sick from time to time, nobody anticipated the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 9 million Americans have caught the disease, resulting in the deaths of over 230,000 Americans. Apart from coronavirus, there are many unexpected tragedies, such as 795,000 Americans suffering a stroke each year, according to the … [Read more...] about Preparing for the Unexpected…and the Eventual
Fair Isn’t Always Equal and Vice Versa
When deciding how to split your assets among your children at death, there are many different factors to consider. Equality is certainly one of those factors. But it’s not the only factor. Fair doesn’t always mean equal and vice versa. Here are some situations in which some parents might think an equal division isn’t necessarily the fairest result: One of the children has greater need due to no fault of their own. One of the children has won the lottery and has much, much more money … [Read more...] about Fair Isn’t Always Equal and Vice Versa
What’s an “Atom Bomb” or “Contingent Remainder” Beneficiary?
When you’re planning your estate, among other things, you decide who should inherit your assets. You choose your beneficiaries, typically your children, grandchildren, or other close relatives. But what if all the beneficiaries you’ve chosen and all their descendants have died? Then it would fall to the “contingent remainder” beneficiary. Often the “contingent remainder” beneficiary has a slang nickname, like the “atom bomb” beneficiary or “exploding turkey” beneficiary. The contingent … [Read more...] about What’s an “Atom Bomb” or “Contingent Remainder” Beneficiary?
Academy’s Fall Summit Virtually Perfect
It’s important to stay current on the latest developments in your field. This is just as true in Estate Planning and Elder Law as it is in other areas of law, or life in general. A few jurisdictions don’t require any continuing legal education at all. Those states requiring continuing legal education typically require about 12 hours per year. The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys requires its Members to earn three times as much, 36 hours annually. Further, the Academy’s requirement … [Read more...] about Academy’s Fall Summit Virtually Perfect
Staying Current is Especially Important in the Pandemic
President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump announced they tested positive for COVID-19. Around the same time, numerous others at the White House also tested positive. In the United States alone, the pandemic has infected over 7.5 million people and has killed nearly 215,000 of them. Worldwide, the pandemic has infected over 36.5 million people and has killed over a million of them. In today’s pandemic, it’s more important than ever to make sure your estate planning documents are current. It’s … [Read more...] about Staying Current is Especially Important in the Pandemic
