Powers of Attorney: Underrated Estate Planning Documents


January 25, 2016
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Powers of attorney are very flexible documents used to reflect your wishes for decisions regarding your health care and control of your assets if you are ever unable to make those decisions yourself.  If you (the principal) are ever incapacitated, your powers of attorney dictate the individuals you have appointed to serve as your agent […]

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Using a Testamentary Letter to Explain Your Estate Plan


January 20, 2016
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Your estate plan likely includes formal documents (a will, perhaps one or more trusts) that direct transfers of your property when you die. But those documents won’t identify each and every item to be transferred. Eventually, whoever settles your affairs will find a sentence in one of your documents such as “I leave the rest […]

The Missing Will


January 11, 2016
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The Missing Will Do you know where your original Will is located? You should, and so should your executor. The dilemma of a missing original Will has come up in the death of Melissa Mathison, screenwriter of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and ex-wife of Harrison Ford. Mathison died on November 4th as a resident of […]

Inflation Adjustments for Estate and Gift Tax Annual Exclusion Amounts


January 10, 2016
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In case you missed Internal Revenue Bulletin 2015-44, the 2016 inflation adjustments pertaining to estate planning are as follows: The gift tax annual exclusion remains at $14,000 for gifts made in 2016. The generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemption is $5,450,000 for transfers made in 2016. The unified estate and gift tax exclusion amount is $5,450,000 for gifts […]