estate planning

New Marriage or Partnership? It’s Time to Update Your Estate Plan

Gerry Turner, the first “Golden Bachelor, ”a widower, and his wife, Theresa Nist, a widow, started divorce proceedings just three months after their televised wedding. Their marriage and subsequent divorce emphasize the importance of estate planning in remarriages or domestic partnerships where one or both partners was previously in a committed relationship. Previous relationships […]

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Estate and Gift Tax Planning and the TCJA

It is somewhat unusual to highlight 2026 taxes in 2024, but we are in an unusual situation: Many of the provisions in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) will expire at the end of 2025 unless Congress acts to extend them. Taxpayers need to be aware of how they will be affected so they can […]

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Estate Planning for Blended Families

Estate planning can be more complicated for blended families than for traditional families. Entering into a new marriage when one or both new spouses have children from a previous relationship poses its own unique challenges, and it is important to consider what will happen if either of you pass away. An estate planning attorney can […]

Considerations When Choosing Beneficiaries

Beneficiaries are a crucial part of your estate plan. They are the people or organizations that will ultimately benefit from your estate when you pass away. Your beneficiaries can receive money or anything else you pass down to them, such as Social Security disability, savings and checking accounts, life insurance policies, retirement plans, and […]

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Building Long-Term Wealth with Your Home

Real estate is one of the largest assets people own. Real estate tends to appreciate over time, so with care, home equity can be the foundation for your family’s fortunes, resulting in profits that can affect your children’s and grandchildren’s wealth. Owning real estate can put you on a path to growing generational assets. […]

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Heirs and Contingent Beneficiaries

When the Titanic went down in 1912, several women chose to remain on board with their husbands. One was Ida Straus, whose family co-owned Macy’s Department Store. Although Titanic-scale disasters are extraordinarily rare, you should nevertheless include a contingency beneficiary in your will or trust in case life or death serves up something unexpected. […]

Grandchildren, Trusts, and Estate Planning

One of the most preferable ways of leaving assets behind for your grandchildren is to name them as beneficiaries in your will or a trust. Trusts are useful because they make it possible for you to control your assets even after your die. Through a trust, you can state how you want the money […]

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Your Estate Plan Can Protect Your Special Needs Child

Parents of a child with a disability face numerous challenges and concerns. One 2022 study from Stanford University found that becoming ill stands among these parents’ biggest worries. They wonder what will happen to their children if they can no longer provide their care and support. Another survey revealed that 69 percent of special needs families expressed fear about providing […]

a sticky note with "GIFT TAXES" written on it

Gift Taxes When Transferring a House in an Estate

Your home or vacation home may be one of your most valuable assets. If you think you may face a gift tax issue, you may want a qualified personal residence trust (QPRT) —a type of irrevocable trust that can remove a house from an estate to reduce gift taxes when transferring it. Here’s how it works: The […]

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Protecting Vulnerable Elders

Elder law attorneys may specialize in estate planning, incapacity planning, and end-of-life care for seniors. They also help older adults remain in their homes as they age and protect them from abuse. These practitioners are essential because they work to protect a vulnerable population. To plan for their future and their care, seniors and their […]