Estate Planning 33 - Personal Family Lawyer

What We Can Learn From Downton Abbey About Estate Planning

March 6, 2013

Downton Abbey – the PBS drama about the fortunes and misfortunes of an aristocratic British family in the early 20th century that has taken American audiences by storm – gets most of its gripping plot twists as the result of a number of bad estate planning moves. For example (Spoiler Alert: these include references to…

March 1, 2013

There have been a number of new rules and services implemented by the Social Security Administration for 2013 that affect a majority of American workers as well as retirees: Expiration of the payroll tax cut. Workers may have already noticed the hit their paychecks took this year due to the expiration of the payroll tax…

February 1, 2013

Most of us conduct a lot of our personal business online these days, so the necessity of being savvy when it comes to security has never been greater. Hackers are becoming much better at scouring our online lives – including social media networks – to get the information they need to compromise our security. Here…

January 18, 2013

Planning for a long and prosperous retirement is no longer just about the money; because of the recession, boomers are needing to reboot their retirement plans. Here are six tips to get you on the right track again: Get healthy. This should take priority even over saving more money, since significantly improving your physical health…

January 10, 2013

In this article I will explain the difference between a Will-based plan and a Trust-based plan so you can make an educated decision for your family about what is best for you and, ultimately, for them. A Will-based plan is an estate plan that does not include a Living Trust to hold title to your…

December 14, 2012

Estate planning rarely comes up in the course of regular conversation and if it does, it is usually involves what has happened to a celebrity’s fortune after his or her death. The distance is safe, so the conversation can take place. But what if you need to discuss estate planning with a loved one –…

November 30, 2012

With longer life spans comes the necessity to be sure your money is around at least as long as you are. Longevity insurance – where you pay a certain sum to an insurer when you’re in your 60s in exchange for monthly payments 20 or more years down the road – is a lesser known…

October 31, 2012

While most parents have the inclination to treat all their children equally when it comes to an inheritance, Personal Family Lawyers® know that this is not always the wise choice. Here are some scenarios when an unequal distribution may be better: Children of unequal wealth – If you have one child that is a successful…

August 29, 2012

Balancing the needs of a multi-generational blended family with your own wishes can be a complicated task, especially when it comes to estate planning. With a majority of Americans not only marrying once, but twice, three or even four times during their lives, it is a challenge that will come to many. Even when blended…

August 22, 2012

What will happen to estate taxes in 2013? Right now, you may as well try to predict what the weather will be on Jan. 1 than count on new laws from a contentious Congress still debating the scenarios. The estate and gift tax exemptions that were set by the 2010 Tax Act are the most…

Include Your Intellectual Property in Your Estate Plan

You don’t have to be a famous producer or household name to own intellectual property. If you create music, own a business, write stories, or build gadgets in your garage, you almost certainly have intellectual property. However, because intellectual property…

Help Your Parents Avoid These New Financial Scams – Part 2

In part one of this series, we explored two popular scams that are targeting older adults this year: the grandparent scam, and cryptocurrency pickpocketing. In this week’s blog, I’m sharing two more scams that you and your parents need to…

Help Your Parents Avoid These New Financial Scams – Part 1

Fraudsters and scam artists are nothing new, but changing tools and technology are making it easier than ever for scammers to target their victims, especially seniors. To protect your aging parents (or yourself) from these con artists, it’s crucial to…