Articles Index
Archive of 2010 Weekly Wills & Estate Planning Newsletters
2010 Weekly Wills and Estate Planning Newsletters
Do You Need Advanced Estate Planning?
During the creation of your basic foundational estate plan, your estate planning attorney will be able to determine your need for planning beyond the basics. Learn what factors your attorney will consider when assessing your need for more advanced estate planning.
What is Advanced Estate Planning?
There is a common misconception that you must be wealthy to need advanced estate planning. This is true is some cases but not in others. While basic estate planning involves creating a plan for what happens if you become mentally disabled and a plan for what happens after you die, advanced estate planning goes beyond these basics in several ways.
Do You Need an Estate Plan For Your Financial Situation?
"How do I know if I need an estate plan?" Aside from taking a look at your family situation, you'll also need to review your finances in order to assess your need for an estate plan.
Do You Need an Estate Plan For Your Family Situation?
One of the most frequent questions that I’m asked as an estate planning attorney is, "How do I know if I need to make an estate plan?” The first place to start is to take a look at your family situation. If it fits into one or more of the personal “red flag” categories, then, regardless of your net worth, you need an estate plan.
Needs and Uses of Life Insurance in Estate Planning
Life insurance can play an important role in estate planning in two very distinct ways.
Needs and Uses of Life Insurance in Estate Planning
Life insurance can play an important role in estate planning in two very distinct ways.
How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?
If you don’t have enough life insurance, you could put your family in a difficult situation upon your death, but having too much could mean you're throwing money out the window. So, how much life insurance do you need?
How to Calculate Your Estate Tax Liability
Whether your estate will be liable for estate taxes depends on the value of your gross estate, the amount of debt owed by you at the time of your death, the total expenses that will be incurred while settling your estate, and any deductions that your estate can take. Here's how to figure out an estimate of your estate tax liability.
How to Calculate Your Estate Tax Liability in 2011
Whether your estate will be liable for estate taxes depends on the value of your gross estate, the amount of debt owed by you at the time of your death, the total expenses that will be incurred while settling your estate, and any deductions that your estate can take. Here's how to figure out an estimate of your estate tax liability if your death occurs in 2011.
FDIC Insurance, Revocable Trusts and Estates: Are Your Accounts Protected?
With the recent rash of bank failures, there has been alot of confusion about the amount of insurance protection offered to bank accounts held in FDIC-insured banks. Coupled with this is the confusing rules that apply to trust and estate accounts. Learn about the current rules that will affect your accounts.
How Does a Revocable Living Trust Avoid Probate?
A common way to avoid probate is to establish and fund a Revocable Living Trust.
Using Joint Accounts and Payable on Death Accounts to Avoid Probate
There are two common and simple ways to avoid probate - using joint accounts and using payable on death accounts (POD), also called transfer on death accounts (TOD), as well as in trust for accounts (ITF), and Totten trusts.
A Collection of Blogs About Michael Jackson's Estate and Family Trust
If you're interested in reading about the past and present news related to the probate of Michael Jackson's estate, then here you'll find links to all of the Wills & Estate Planning blogs written about the estate and the Michael Jackson Family Trust.
What is the Federal Estate Tax?
On January 1, 2010, the federal estate tax was officially repealed. For persons who died in 2009 or earlier, the tax was collected on the transfer of a person's assets to his or her loved ones after death, but not all estates actually had to pay the tax. Find out why.
Overview of Taxes that Affect an Estate
When preparing or updating your estate plan, you will need to have a basic understanding of the different types of taxes that can affect your estate - gift taxes, estate taxes, inheritance taxes, generation skipping (or GST) taxes, and income taxes.
What is a Power of Attorney?
A Power of Attorney allows you to delegate your right to manage, invest, and spend assets held in your individual name to someone else, called your "attorney in fact."
State Estate Tax and Exemption Chart
Currently 15 states and the District of Columbia collect a state estate tax. Here you'll find a chart that lists the 2009 and 2010 estate tax exemptions for Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington, as well as information about 2009 exemptions in Illinois, Kansas, North Carolina and Oklahoma.
State Inheritance Tax Chart
Currently 15 states and the District of Columbia collect a state estate tax, while seven states collect a state inheritance tax. Learn the difference between an estate tax and an inheritance tax and view a chart that summarizes the inheritance tax laws of Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Farrah Fawcett's Estate - What Does Her Trust Say?
Actress Farrah Fawcett died on June 25, 2009, and in November 2009 the contents of her revocable living trust were revealed to the public. A summary of what the trust says can be found here.
Annual Exclusion From Gift Taxes: 1997 - 2010
The annual amount exempt from the federal gift tax, called the annual gift tax exclusion, was indexed for inflation beginning in 1997 and has slowly increased over the years. Here you'll find a chart that shows the increase in the annual gift tax exclusion from 1997 through 2010.
What is the Future of the Federal Estate Tax?
What will happen with the federal estate tax in 2010 and beyond is entirely up in the air. Under current law the tax disappeared on January 1 but is scheduled to come back in 2011. So don't be surprised if the federal estate tax not only reappears but ends up taking a significant chunk out of your beneficiaries' pockets.
What's the Difference Between Per Stirpes and Per Capita Distributions?
When it comes to estate planning terms, two that you'll need to be familiar with are per stirpes and per capita. These are Latin terms that are commonly used in Last Will and Testaments and Revocable Living Trusts to describe how your property is to be left to your beneficiaries.
Estate Planning Organizer - How to Create an Estate Planning Location List
Don't leave your loved ones with a mess. Organize your important documents now so that you can provide your family with a written, comprehensive list showing where your important papers are stored and who to contact in the event of your disability or death. Here's how to put together a location list for your important documents.
Estate Planning Organizer - How to Create an Estate Planning Contact List
Don't leave your loved ones with a mess. Organize your important documents now so that you can provide your family with a written, comprehensive list showing where your important papers are stored and who to contact in the event of your disability or death. Here's how to create a contact list for your key advisors.