If Congress ultimately expands gun legislation, then it could have a profound impact on an individual’s ability to transfer guns to their beneficiaries. Bequeathing a gun in an estate is very different from passing on other personal property. Because a gun is a regulated piece of personal property at both the federal and state levels, […]
Trustee A trustee is a fiduciary with a high degree of responsibility. As a fiduciary, a trustee has legal duties that he or she must perform. As discussed in Maggie Green’s series of posts, those duties include loyalty, impartiality, and recordkeeping. A trustee must act out of loyalty to the beneficiaries and not to further […]
A couple in love has a baby but they haven’t tied the knot. Many times they also haven’t created an estate plan. Unfortunately, the unwed parents in love need an estate plan more than married parents. Why, you ask? Well, if an unwed parent dies without a plan, the surviving parent doesn’t inherit any of […]
Make this your new year’s resolution. Or don’t. Either way, these six things should give you peace of mind that your family and friends will not struggle through the probate process. 1. Make a list of your stuff Create a simple list of your assets with corresponding values – use a ballpark value if you don’t […]
What is a Spendthrift Trust? A spendthrift trust is one in which the right of a beneficiary to future payments from the trust cannot be voluntarily or involuntarily transferred by the beneficiary or reached by the beneficiary’s creditors. While in trust, assets are unattainable until they are distributed. The beneficiary of a spendthrift trust does […]
Almost every week I receive an email from a tax or financial advisor about how my clients should take advantage of the current gift tax exemption. The exemption of $5.12 million allows an individual to give away just over five million dollars before paying any federal gift tax (side note: MN does not have a […]
Almost every week I receive an email from a tax or financial advisor about how my clients should take advantage of the current gift tax exemption. The exemption of $5.12 million allows an individual to give away just over five million dollars before paying any federal gift tax (side note: MN does not have a […]
PART VI: WHEN & WHERE? DEFINING A TRIGGER & CHOOSING A LOCATION “Time and space are fragments of the infinite for the use of finite creatures. “ ~Henri-Frederic Amiel, Swiss Philosopher, Poet and Critic Followers of this series will be delighted to know that this penultimate entry is the most concise and straightforward. When? Attorneys […]
PART V: WHAT? RECOGNIZING THE ASSETS. “An artist is someone who produces things that people don’t need to have but that he for some reason thinks it would be a good idea to give them.” ~Andy Warhol, Pop Art Pioneer So far, this series has revealed why estate planning for artists is so essential, who […]
Historically, determining a decedent’s heirs was easy – determine all of the decedent’s living family members on the date of decedent’s death and if decedent’s wife was pregnant on the date of his death, wait to see if the child is born alive. Now, however, science has provided us with the ability to freeze genetic […]
If you are one of the millions of parents who own a life insurance policy, you may have your child named individually as a primary or contingent beneficiary if you were to pass away while the policy was still in effect. However, naming a child individually, especially under the age of eighteen, can have unintended […]