What are you grateful for this holiday season?
The holidays are rapidly approaching. Around this time of year, it is common for people to reflect on the positive and negative moments of the year with family and friends, and to remember our loved ones who are no longer with us. It is important to be thankful for good health, the people around us, and our assets.
We wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and hope that your holiday is spent enjoying the company of your loved ones. This holiday, while gathered around the turkey, we encourage you to put aside some time to ask your family members important questions regarding long-term care and their estate plan.
November is National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. This was established by Ronald Reagan in 1983. Currently, more than 6 million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer’s. With numbers continuously on the rise, it is important to discuss the steps you can take if a loved one is showing signs of early-onset Alzheimer’s.
Thank you to our Veterans for your bravery and sacrifice for this country. We appreciate your efforts to maintain America’s freedom. Happy Veteran’s Day!
In honor of Veterans Day, we would like to dedicate this post to spreading awareness about the resources and special circumstances that go with Estate Planning for military members.
by Kristin Carroll
Communication is key, and this is your chance!
We get asked about our Family Care MeetingTM a lot these days. Everything from when can I schedule mine to what’s the point? The first question is easy, if you’re a client and you’ve signed your estate plan, give us a call, we’d love to schedule a Family Care MeetingTM for you and your trusted advisors or loved ones! The second question might take a little more explaining.
We often ask our clients, when do you need an estate plan to help care for your family? The somewhat morbid answer is, of course, when you’re no longer around to care for them yourself. Someone else is going to have to administer the plan you created; you won’t be able to do that. Doesn’t it make sense that they have some idea what it’s going to look like before they need to be involved?
Throughout the year we have been monitoring and communicating about the various discussions regarding potential tax law changes. Although there have been a lot of proposals put forth, we have a little more clarity as the House Ways and Means Committee has forwarded a “bill” (not law) to be considered by the full house that gives us some indication as to what the final law may be. It is important to understand that this is not the law and is subject to change.
Last week we addressed how new proposed tax law may lower the federal gift and estate tax threshold and prohibit current gifting strategies to lower Massachusetts estate taxes, as well as the window right now to take advantage of those current strategies. If you did not get a chance to read that blog, go check it out here.
As many of you may know, administrations come and go, and when they do, it is prime time for law changes. Some of these changes do not or only minimally affect estate planning, but others, like the recently proposed federal estate and gift tax changes, have the potential to dramatically affect estate tax planning. This is one of the many reasons we have a client care program designed to take care of our families—so that when the law changes, your plan can change with it.
For years we have been telling our clients, if you have questions or anything changes, call us; however, we are finding we get the question somewhat frequently, “but specifically when should I call you?” Or we find out about a major life change several months or a year after the fact because clients or their family members did not realize that they could or should call us. We thought we would try to clear some of that up and give you some guidelines on when you might want to think about picking up the phone or shooting us an email. We’re here to be a resource for our clients, and we never want you to feel like you just have to figure it out on your own. Here are some reasons you might want to reach out:
Family Estate Planning Law Group’s Family Care Meeting™ is a great way to begin talks with your family about your estate plan. By bringing together your team, which can include your loved ones, our attorney team, a financial advisor, accountant, or any other professional you want included, the Family Care Meeting™ opens up communication, facilitating the conversation and answering questions from all those involved.
