Happy Thanksgiving

May the good thing of life be yours in abundance, not only at Thanksgiving but throughout the coming year. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Does a Beneficiary of a Trust Have to Pay a Tax?

Beneficiaries of a trust typically pay taxes on the distributions they receive from the trust’s income, rather than the trust itself paying the tax. However, these beneficiaries are not subject to taxes on distributions from the trust’s principal.

How Can I Use Estate Planning for My Small Business?

Small businesses are often caught up in growth cycles, profits and ensuring that products arrive to consumers on time. The life of a small business owner is a hectic one with many owners failing to follow basic estate planning and business law practices.

Still Procrastinating about Your Estate Plan?

Without an estate plan in place, clients will be reliant on state laws and probate courts to appoint individuals who will be responsible for financial affairs and health-care decisions, in the case of illness and ultimately the transfer of assets upon death.

What Must Be Done when a Loved One Dies?

It can be hard to move through your daily life after someone you love dies. It may be even harder to embark on the complex tasks required to put their financial affairs in order. However, you can’t afford to put that off.

Working and Collecting Social Security Benefits

For most Americans, Social Security plays an important role in maintaining retirement security. The benefit payments represent an income stream that is free of default, investment, inflation and longevity (outliving your money) risks.

Your Estate Plan Needs to Be Customized

Estate planning documents often are treated like the photocopied permission slip for a child’s field trip. You fill in your name, include the children’s names and dates of birth and sign. The document is filed away to be used if needed, but you really never expect it to be used.

Possible Pitfalls for Special Needs Planning for Parents

Both the state and federal government, administered through the Social Security Administration (SSA) and Medicaid provide disabled individuals with a variety of life enhancing, and sometimes life sustaining, public benefits.

How Do I Incorporate Cryptocurrency into My Estate Planning?

Bitcoin has gone in value from less than one cent in 2010 to a high of $20,000 in 2017, to a value at the end of July 2020 of nearly $11,000. Now the U.S. Congress is holding hearings on the digitization of the dollar, so cryptocurrency has become an increasingly important financial tool for individuals and businesses.