Planning is important. If you don’t plan, your assets go pursuant to the state’s default plan, which may be very different from what you want. If you plan, you can be sure your assets go exactly to whom you want and in a manner that can benefit them the most. Make Your Own Plan … [Read more...] about Make Your Own Plan
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Income Tax Basis in Estate Planning
Income tax basis is important in estate planning. This article examines what happens to an asset’s basis when it is gifted. It then examines what happens to the basis of an asset when someone dies with the asset and then bequeaths it to someone. Many people find it surprising that these are treated differently. Income tax basis is an important factor in considering estate planning strategies. Income Tax Basis in Estate Planning … [Read more...] about Income Tax Basis in Estate Planning
How Will You Obtain the Care You Need?
What’s the right direction for you in planning for the help you might need in the future? Seven in ten of us will need long-term care at some point in our lives. Here are possible paths for covering the assistance you may need. How Will You Obtain the Care You Need? … [Read more...] about How Will You Obtain the Care You Need?
Use Trust Protectors for Added Protection and Flexibility
Trust Protectors are increasingly popular in trusts. This article examines how Trust Protectors can add flexibility to your trust. This flexibility helps achieve your goals and can protect the beneficiaries and Trustee. Use Trust Protectors for Added Protection and Flexibility … [Read more...] about Use Trust Protectors for Added Protection and Flexibility
Income Tax Basis
Income tax basis is important in tax and estate planning. This article examines the concept of income tax basis, how one acquires a basis, how it gets adjusted, etc. The article then examines how the basis is subtracted from the sale price to determine gain or loss. The next article in the series will examine how income tax basis is an important factor in estate planning. Income Tax Basis … [Read more...] about Income Tax Basis
Why Choose a Living Trust Over a Last Will?
The last will is the most common estate planning document, and a lot of people think that it is the only logical choice unless you are extremely wealthy. They are aware of the existence of trusts, but they are under the impression that trusts are very expensive to create and unnecessary for the majority of families. In reality, this is nothing more or less than a widely held misconception. There are trusts that are intended for multimillionaires that are exposed to the federal estate tax, and … [Read more...] about Why Choose a Living Trust Over a Last Will?
Will Medi-Cal Pay for In-Home Care?
Before we address the subject at hand, we must provide some necessary background information. When you are planning ahead for your retirement years, you will invariably envision the good times that lie ahead. Without question, if you make the right choices along the way with regard to saving, you will have the financial underpinning that you need to enjoy your golden years to the fullest. This is something that is fun to think about, and it should be, because people work hard all their lives … [Read more...] about Will Medi-Cal Pay for In-Home Care?
Special Needs Planning and Estate Recovery
There are those that see estate planning as a one-way street. They think that it’s all about deciding “who gets what” as it were. When that is determined, everyone can receive their inheritances in the same manner, or so this line of thinking goes. You can adopt this perspective, but it would be shortsighted to say the least. To devise a well-constructed estate plan, you should definitely consider the life situation of each person that will be receiving a bequest from you. If you do not act … [Read more...] about Special Needs Planning and Estate Recovery
Estate Taxes and Real Property
Financial success is a beautiful thing, and it is a good feeling to be able to leave behind a legacy for your loved ones to draw from after you are gone. This being stated, there are looming threats in the form of death taxes. Generally speaking, inheritances are not subject to regular income taxes, but there is a federal estate tax that can have a significant negative impact. This levy carries a 40% maximum rate, so we are not talking about a barely noticeable nibble. The high rate is the … [Read more...] about Estate Taxes and Real Property
Medi-Cal Planning by the Numbers
The reason why Medi-Cal may be relevant to you as a senior citizen is because Medicare will not pay for a stay in a nursing home. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, about 35% of seniors will someday need this level of care. In the greater Los Angeles area, you can expect to pay over a hundred thousand dollars a year for a private room in a nursing home, and the costs have been rising each year. If you are married, your family must be prepared to absorb … [Read more...] about Medi-Cal Planning by the Numbers
