Recent Blog Posts
How the Supreme Court Ruling on Health Care Reform May Affect Seniors
The recent Supreme Court ruling of the constitutionality of the new health care reforms has many seniors breathing a sigh of relief. The ruling has ensured that, at least for the time being, senior citizens will continue to receive their currently existing benefits from programs such as Medicaid and Medicare; but the ruling also… Read More »
States are Looking at The Big Picture When It Comes to Taxes
In addition to a federal estate tax, most people can plan to pay an estate tax for their state of residence as well upon the distribution of a deceased loved one’s estate. These gift and estate taxes generate a significant amount of revenue for most states; but according to this recent article in Forbes,… Read More »
Some Inheritances are Best Bestowed in Different but Equal Ways
Every parent wants to love and treat all their children the same, but when it comes to estate planning, not every child should be treated the same. In fact, insisting on treating all children exactly the same in an estate plan can often lead to disastrous consequences. However, as this article from The Street… Read More »
Talking to Your Parents About Retirement
Most people consider financial matters a private affair, and only talk about it with their spouse or their financial advisor; but when it comes to retirement and long-term care Americans just can’t afford to be silent any longer. According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, “Nearly two in five adult children… Read More »
Facebook Founders Use GRATs to Avoid Excessive Taxation; You Can Too
News sources recently revealed that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg—as well as other Facebook top brass—use Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts to protect their assets and investments from excessive taxation. Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (more commonly called GRATs) are a perfectly legal—and very efficient—way to protect and pass significant assets from one person to another without… Read More »
The Pros and Cons of Long-Term Care Insurance
Do you have long-term care insurance? SHOULD you have long-term care insurance? These are questions that currently plague many forty-, fifty-, and sixty-somethings, as well as some precocious thirty-somethings. We’ve been hearing and reading more and more about long-term care insurance in recent years, but we still don’t seem to have any kind of… Read More »
An Estate Plan Can Highlight Religious Values… Within Limits
All parents hope to pass their values onto their children; and of the many values they hope to pass on religion and spirituality often tops the list. In some cases, religious values are so important to a parent that they will even include mention of these values in their estate plan. Our firm strongly… Read More »
Compassion is Key When Talking to Aging Parents
Being a caregiver is one of the most difficult (and rewarding) jobs on the planet; but sometimes when it comes to strong-willed aging parents, getting them to admit they might need a caregiver is more difficult than the caregiving itself. Take the story of David Solie, published recently in the Los Angeles Times; “David… Read More »
Avoid the Most Common Estate Planning Mistakes
In a world where bureaucracy and taxation become more present and complex every year, it has become absolutely necessary for every family to have an estate plan. Not all estate plans are created equal, however, and it takes a little bit of research—or a conversation with the right advisors—to determine which plan will be… Read More »
The Good News and The Bad News About Retirement
The good news is that Americans are living longer, the bad news is that it costs a whole lot more to retire than it used to. But the rising cost of retirement has more to do with just longer life expectancy. As this recent article in the New York Times points out, “Social Security… Read More »