Name: Bob Cohen Employer: Tamar Fink, Inc Position: Principal Location: Mpls, MN Education: B.S.B. Accounting – University of Minnesota How long have you been in your career field? I have been in the life insurance and charitable planning arena for over 27 years. What led you to work in this area? A personal experience with […]
As the worldwide economy has collapsed in the past few years, the political environment has deteriorated and the violence has substantially increased in some countries around the world, many wealthy people are trying to find countries that offer a safer environment for them and their families as well as a safer investing territory for their […]
While there are plenty of other myths I could include in this post, one overarching theme seems to be prevalent throughout: uniqueness. While it may seem like a given estate planning situation is vanilla, working to achieve your specific goals and planning for the various anomalies present in your life is the only way to […]
I have recommended Deborah Jacob’s in the past, but Advice for New Mothers – and Procrastinators is spot on. Covering all of the important estate planning issues for young parents, her advice mimics many of the suggestions I give to clients who have minor children. She provides an option for parents who cannot decide on a guardian, links to the Mummy Manual (an example of […]
Sure, billionaires may have trusts for charitable gifting, inter-generational wealth transfer, and asset protection purposes, but for many families, trusts assist in more mundane circumstances, too. They can be useful tools for managing judicial awards or settlements from law suits. Leaving all assets outright to 18 year olds – even if these assets are not […]
Why on earth is she talking about prenups in an estate planning blog?! Well, estate planning and ante-nuptial agreements go hand in hand, especially in second marriages and legacy planning. The prenup sets the minimum expectations and ground rules upon which the newlyweds can do more for each other and each other’s families. Existing prenuptial […]
Many clients are familiar with the gift tax exclusion and understand that their small gifts (even to organizations that are not tax-exempt) will not be subject to gift tax. Where there tends to be confusion is around the concepts of what is a taxable gift and what is not, and valuation of the gift. These […]
On CBS Sunday Morning this past Sunday, the whole program was dedicated to life and death. One particular story that stood out was on La Crosse, WI. In La Crosse, WI, “…96 percent of the people who passed away here had created advance directives. That’s the highest percentage of end-of-life planning in a nation where […]
Heartbleed may be the largest security breach in Internet history, but it is certainly not the last. It reminds us that our personal information is vulnerable to invasion. Unfortunately, identity theft continues to be a prevalent but insidious crime. How do you catch it, and what do you do if it happens to you? Here […]
This issue varies significantly based upon where you live. In Minnesota, unlike some other jurisdictions, the probate avoidance opportunity doesn’t always rise to the level of necessity. The benefits of avoiding probate include: not incurring the time delay, avoiding the expense of court filing fees or attorney’s fees for opening the probate and administering the […]
I have noticed that many clients use the words “equal” and “fair” interchangeably in the discussion around leaving assets (especially to children and grandchildren). Unfortunately, when thinking through the ramifications of equal treatment, it often starts to not look as fair to all takers. One example involves the family business where one of the client’s […]