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The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 was signed into law on December 20, 2019 as part of the federal government spending bill. The SECURE Act includes many provisions intended to help Americans save more for retirement. The Act includes pension-related provisions that incentivize employers to […]
If it has been a while since you’ve reviewed your estate plan, use this list to help you determine if your plan needs any updates. If you do not yet have your estate plan in place, review this list to help you think through some key decisions before meeting with […]
Just as caring for a family member with special needs requires extra effort, so does estate planning for families with a special needs beneficiary. There is more to consider than nominating a guardian to care for their physical well-being. Careful planning is necessary to properly provide for the financial well-being […]
Do your investments have unrealized gains which you are considering “harvesting”? Or are you currently contemplating the sale of appreciated real estate or business interests? If so, the 2017 Tax Act offers a considerable tax break for investors who reinvest capital gains into new Qualified Opportunity Funds (“QOF”). These rules […]
You can find a tutorial and a form online for practically everything, so do you really need to hire an attorney to prepare your estate plan? Here are some excuses I’ve heard from people who claim they don’t need an estate plan or think they can handle the preparation of […]
A column on estate and financial planning for everyone Most people understand trust arrangements are beneficial for their minor children. Until kids are financially mature, parents and grandparents do not want their children and grandchildren to receive an outright inheritance. However, more clients are beginning to realize the benefits of […]
What exactly is an estate plan? Webster defines “estate” as all of the things that a person owns and “plan” as something that a person intends to do. Accordingly, your estate plan sets forth your intentional decisions about the ultimate disposition of your property. The process of establishing your estate […]
A recent case issued by the Nebraska Supreme Court has estate planning and family law attorneys talking. The case is Stephens v. Stephens, 297 Neb. 188, 899 N.W.2d 582 (2017), and the result of this case may very well be more litigation to resolve the questions it is bound to […]
A Grantor Retained Annuity Trust is a planning tool that you may use to transfer assets to your beneficiaries with little, or possibly no, wealth transfer tax costs. The primary benefit of a GRAT is to freeze the value of the property transferred to the trust, so that the future […]
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law on December 22, 2017, doubling the amount a taxpayer may leave to his or her beneficiaries without paying the federal estate tax. However, this is one of the individual tax changes in the new law which “sunset” on December 31, […]
