Have a Trust? How the Corporate Transparency Act Affects You

June 15, 2023
Get ready for an interesting twist in the world of legal and business news. You may already be familiar with the upcoming Corporate Transparency Act, set to kick in next year. If you aren’t, it’s time to get in the know because it could impact you, and if you it does, you’ll need support. Starting…
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Keep the Government and Lawsuit Happy Opportunists Away From Your Children’s Inheritance

February 24, 2023
If you have a current estate plan, I’ll bet you plan to leave your assets to your children outright and unprotected by age 35, or maybe a little later. Go take a look at your estate plan, and see what it does right now. And, if you don’t have an estate plan, and you have…
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Before You Agree to Be a Trustee, Read This!

February 3, 2023
Being asked by a loved one to serve as Trustee for their Trust upon their death can be quite an honor, but it’s also a significant responsibility—and the role is not for everyone. Indeed, serving as a Trustee entails a broad array of duties, and you are both ethically and legally required to execute those…
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4 Essential Strategies For Protecting Your Family’s Assets

July 29, 2022
You might think that only the super wealthy need to worry about asset protection planning. But the truth is that if you don’t have millions, you may be at even greater risk. For instance, if you are a multi-millionaire, a $50,000 judgment against you might not be that big of a deal. But for a…
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3 Reasons Why Transferring Ownership Of Your Home To Your Child Is A Bad Idea

April 22, 2022
Whether it’s to qualify for Medicaid, avoid probate, or reduce your tax burden, transferring ownership of your home to your adult child during your lifetime may seem like a smart move. But in nearly all cases, it’s actually a huge mistake, which can lead to dire consequences for everyone involved. With this in mind, before…
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How Naming Guardians For Your Kids In Your Will Can Leave Them At Risk

April 15, 2022
If you are a mom or dad with children under the age of 18 at home, your number-one estate planning priority should be selecting and legally documenting both long and short-term guardians for your kids. Guardians are the people legally named to care for your children in the event something happens to you. And if…
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Does Your Family Need Umbrella Insurance?

April 8, 2022
In today’s highly litigious society you are at near-constant risk for costly lawsuits—even if you’ve done nothing wrong. This is especially true if you have substantial wealth, but even those with relatively few assets can find themselves in court facing a potentially devastating lawsuit. If you are sued, your traditional homeowners or auto insurance will…
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Protect Your Children’s Inheritance With A Lifetime Asset Protection Trust

March 31, 2022
As a parent, you’re likely hoping to leave your children an inheritance. In fact, doing so may be one of the primary factors motivating your life’s work. But without taking the proper precautions, the wealth you pass on is at serious risk of being accidentally lost or squandered due to common life events, such as…
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7 Last-Minute Moves To Save On Your Taxes For 2021

March 25, 2022
Although many strategies to save on your income taxes must be locked in before the end of the year, there are still numerous ways you can reduce your tax bill right up until the filing deadline, which has been pushed back to Monday April 18th due to a holiday on April 15th. Some of these…
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Probate: What It Is & How To Avoid It—Part 2

March 18, 2022
Unless you’ve created an estate plan that works to keep your family out of court, when you die (or become incapacitated) many of your assets must go through probate before those assets can be distributed to your heirs. Like most court proceedings, probate can be time-consuming, costly, and open to the public, and because of…
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Asset Protection

Leave an Inheritance for Future Generations with a Trusteed IRA

According to the Investment Company Institute, the use of IRAs for retirement saving has increased in the past decade, with $6.5 trillion invested in traditional and Roth IRAs. But how much of those assets will pass beyond the primary beneficiaries…

Supreme Court Decision Makes Inherited IRAs Fair Game in Bankruptcy

A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision has changed the way inherited IRAs are viewed when it comes to bankruptcy, and calls for those who inherit these retirement account assets to find new ways to protect that inheritance. In Clark v.…

Financial Self-Protection Tips for the Newly Single

Whether you have a lost a spouse or partner through divorce or death, being thrust into singlehood can be an emotionally and financially jarring experience.  To get yourself back on firm footing, at least financially, follow these five steps: Finalize…

Why Inheriting in Trust is a Must

You bring your children into the world with love. You raise them with love. If you’re going all the way as a parent, you also create an estate plan to safely pass on your legacy of love as well as…

Robin Williams: A Lesson in Deeds, Not Words + One Error in Planning

One of the most eloquent responses to Robin Williams’ death came from his best friend Billy Crystal, who posted on Twitter simply:  “No words.” When someone close to us dies — especially in a sudden and tragic way — the…

How to Protect Your Real Estate Assets

If you own real estate, chances are you have purchased insurance to protect your assets against damage or loss.  But have you taken the necessary steps to protect your assets against lawsuits or probate? If you own rental properties, there…

Ask These 5 Questions Before Gifting Assets

Gifting assets can be a useful estate planning tool if you need to reduce your estate tax bill or for long-term care planning purposes.  However, you need to be sure that your gift does not cause any unforeseen problems for…

Before You Take Off for Summer Vacation, Take On These 5 To-Dos

It’s no surprise that Americans spend more time planning their summer vacations than they do planning their estate.  After all, a vacation is a trip you want to go on, while the eternal “trip” is not. However, wouldn’t you travel…

How Real Men Celebrate Father’s Day

Do you know what it takes to be a real man?  Although the expectations of both men and women have evolved over the last few decades, there are still some fundamental characteristics that most people would agree constitute what it…

Greatest Wealth Transfer in History Underway – What’s Your Plan?

A new study from the Boston College Center on Wealth and Philanthropy shows that the greatest wealth transfer in history is currently underway, with more than $59 trillion passing to heirs, charities and Uncle Sam between now and 2061. The…

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