Estate planning has never been a simple endeavor, but with the advent of digital assets, it’s become an even more complex endeavor. A recent article from The Street, “Don’t Let Your Digital Assets Die with You,” looks at some of the main issues with creating a plan for your digital legacy. [Read more…]
Proposed Law Looks to Simplify Digital Estates
One of the biggest complications in estate planning for digital assets is that the law is still catching up to technology. The Uniform Law Commission has worked for the past several years on a law that could solve that. A recent Investment News article, “New Bill Aims to Ease Access to Online Accounts after Client’s Death” looks at some of the implications of the proposed law. [Read more…]
Top Ten List: Best States to Retire
It’s fun to look at this top ten list from Kiplinger, which examines all 50 states and considers the most important factors for retirees. In “10 Best States for Retirement,”economics and the health of the state’s population are the leading indicators. These top ten are good starting points for a conversation about where you’ll want to live during your retirement years. If you have family—especially grandkids—in any of these states, you might want to seriously consider a move. [Read more…]
Survivorship Life Insurance as a Helpful Estate Planning Tool
In “Survivorship Life Insurance Useful for Estate Planning,” Insurance News explores how this kind of policy works in an estate plan to benefit heirs or to help make a charitable donation. As the name implies, proceeds are not paid until the last survivor passes—typically a surviving spouse.
This is a real advantage for lower pricing. In many marriages, another benefit to consider is the benefit to a female spouse. Statistically, women tend to outlive men and this fact is reflected in lower premiums, meaning you could buy twice as much face amount in a survivorship policy as you could in an individual policy for the same amount of money. [Read more…]
Planning for Children Struggling with Addiction
Many parents of children struggling with addiction or mental illness are focused on caring for their children and some may have thought about who will care for them after they’re gone. The New York Times article “For Parents with Troubled Adult Children, Financial Hurdles Abound” looks at a few of the concrete steps parents of addicted children can take that won’t unintentionally enable an addiction. [Read more…]
Disturbing Network of Theft and Fraud Targeting the Elderly
This is a story that any professional working with seniors finds particularly abhorrent. An investigation by the New Jersey State Police and the Division of Criminal Justice uncovered a scheme by a New Jersey woman, her sister and several others—including an attorney—to steal millions from elderly clients they were supposed to be helping. The story was reported by New Jersey 101.5 in “NJ woman pleads guilty to scamming millions of dollars from the elderly.” [Read more…]
Eight Florida Districts Experiment with Eldercaring Coordination
Caring for a vulnerable parent or spouse can become a huge problem when siblings and relatives are busy doing battle with each other instead of taking care of their family member. In extreme cases, which are more common than you might imagine, the situation can escalate until a guardianship procedure is the only solution. [Read more…]
Work the Numbers Before Gifting Stock to Grandchildren
Grandchildren are often a big part of estate planning, as there are certain advantages to passing assets along to the youngest generation in the family. For individuals who have owned blue chip stocks with high values for several decades, when and how to gift these stocks requires a detailed analysis of the tax implications. [Read more…]
2016 Brings a Big Birthday for Baby Boomers
Seventy may not exactly be the new 50, but it’s not that far off. According to a recent article in Money,“Happy 70th Birthday, Boomers!” researchers say that members of this generation – born from 1946 through 1964 – are healthier from a physical and mental standpoint than previous generations. This also means that the oldest boomers, who will turn 70 in 2016, are more likely to see their 85th birthday. Their grandparents at 70 had only a 28% chance to reach age 85. Want to feel even better? More than one in 10 of the oldest members of the baby boom generation will live to age 95, compared to their grandparents’ generation of only three in 100. [Read more…]
A Lesson in Procrastination: James Gandolfini
The irrevocable charitable lead trust is a trust that cannot be amended, revised or cancelled, and it might have been a good idea for preventing James Gandolfini’s estate from being “whacked” by estate taxes. Financial website thestreet.com took a closer look at this powerful estate planning tool in “How to Protect Your Estate From Getting ‘Whacked’ Like James Gandolfini’s”. [Read more…]