Many people are being lulled into complacency thinking they don’t have to update or do estate planning because exemptions are so high that there is ‘no’ tax issue. This may not be quite true for two major reasons. One:...
Sometimes, our parents stand in the way of helping themselves. We ask about their estate plans, health care concerns, continuing care issues and the response is almost universally the same. They say they are not losing control, they don’t...
Last year was certainly a challenging one from the standpoint of planning for taxes. Because of this many feel that they should wait to take action and that could have a very negative impact on their planning. Since Congress...
Congress finally has acted to extend certain tax breaks to all Americans allowing them a breather in an already tough economy. While we can all be thankful for not getting an unexpected tax increase, we should all remember that...
With only a few weeks left in the year, the likelihood that Congress will decide to extend the Bush-era tax cuts becomes smaller and smaller. In 2011, the Senate and House of Representatives will be controlled by different parties,...
Recently, I had the priviledge to attend the wedding of the daughter of one of my dearest cousins and I had the opportunity to bring my oldest daughter with me. I guess I’m just a sucker for family get...
I had a unique experience last week that most of us only see on television. I was at a meeting, and had invited one of my best friends to attend. At the end of the meeting, he got up,...
In this changing and challenging economy, many people have had to confront the fact that the traditional “model” of retirement has changed. Many people had planned to retire with a nest egg only to see it substantially reduced. The...
Over the past several years as we have been maturing in the estate and exit planning practice, we are noticing a definite trend in our clients. When clients first come to us, it is an exercise in the documents...
The big news this year is Roth Conversions. For 2010, there are no income limitations for a person to convert their regular IRA to a Roth. The question is, ‘Should you do it?’ That demands a typical lawyer’s answer…..It...