Whether you know it or not you are crafting some type of legacy as you are living your life. People are invariably remembered for the things that they have done, and this is something to keep in mind. You can think about your legacy every step of the way, but admittedly younger adults are generally caught up in day-to-day affairs. However, when you're planning your estate and the eventualities of aging are upon you the concept of legacy planning may seem quite a bit more relevant. The …
QDT Provides for a Foreign Spouse
There are many acronyms that are used in estate planning to represent certain legal devices. One of these is the QDT, which stands for a qualified domestic trust. To understand why a QDT may be useful you should know a bit about the federal estate tax. After the enactment of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 parameters were put into place that are said to be permanent in that they have no particular expiration date. This does not mean that subsequent legislation could not change things, …
Inheritance Disputes Come to Reality TV
An inheritance dispute can wreak havoc with a family, especially if there is a lot of money involved. This is something to think about when you're planning your estate. If you are like most people you would like to think that your family members would be able to pull together and support one another after you are gone. It would certainly be disconcerting to think that the opposite dynamic would coalesce after your passing. The best way to avoid acrimony among family members is to discuss …
Beware of Risky Estate Planning Shortcuts
If you were entering into a contract of some kind involving a lot of money you would probably not take any shortcuts. Yet, many people look for shortcuts when it comes to estate planning. There are certain ways that you can arrange for assets to wind up in the hands of someone that you will be leaving behind quite simply. One of these would be to make an individual the co-owner of your property. It could be your place of residence, your bank accounts, brokerage accounts, etc. When you do this …
Medicaid May Suddenly Become Relevant
People who have worked throughout their lives making good livings may feel as though Medicaid is utterly irrelevant to them. They have health insurance through their jobs while they are working, and they paid into the Medicare program so they will have health care coverage during retirement. While the above may seem perfectly logical a significant percentage of people wind up applying for Medicaid when they reach an advanced age. This is because of the fact that Medicare will not pay for an …
Is Chained CPI on the Way?
The executive branch has put together a budget proposal for the 2014 fiscal year, and it includes a conversion to a chained CPI to measure the rate of inflation. This measurement is utilized to determine how much senior citizens will receive as a Social Security cost-of-living adjustment. Expenses rise, and many of these seniors are living on a fixed income so adjustments are relied upon. To give you an idea about the extent of this reliance, according to the Social Security Administration …
What Happens If I Become Incapacitated?
It can be hard to relate to a time when you may be unable to make your own decisions due to incapacity. Be that as it may, a very significant percentage of our nation's elders do in fact become incapacitated. In many cases guardianship proceedings are initiated under these circumstances. Guardianship If interested parties come to the conclusion that you are no longer capable of making sound decisions they could approach the court requesting a guardianship hearing. This could result in the …
Can I Use Joint Tenancy to Avoid Medicaid Recovery?
If you were to apply for Medicaid to pay for long-term care you have to understand the fact that Medicaid will try to recover monies spent to pay for your care after you pass away. It is important to take steps to protect your house from Medicaid recovery if you are in fact a homeowner who will be applying for Medicaid. To provide some background information, many people who were never really poor apply for Medicaid as senior citizens because Medicare will not pay for long-term care. Because …
When Should I Use My Gift/Estate Tax Exclusion?
High net worth individuals must be concerned about taxes on large asset transfers. We have an estate tax in the United States, and there is also a gift tax. In the state of New York there is an estate tax on the state level as well, but we will discuss that in a different post. The gift tax and the estate tax are unified. The unified exclusion or credit is $5.25 million dollars. This is the amount of money that you can bequeath, or gift to others while you are alive, before these transfers …
Legacy Wealth Planning in Long Island NY: How It Differs from Traditional Estate Planning
Estate planning is a general term. The exact anatomy of an actual estate plan is not going to be identical for everyone. There are those who need a traditional estate plan because they have relatively basic concerns. On the other hand, people who are in more complicated positions will benefit from legacy wealth planning. Financial Position To a large extent, those who are in possession of a significant store of wealth will need to consider legacy wealth planning. Those who are of more modest …
Can I Leave a Tax-Free Inheritance to My Spouse?
You pay taxes throughout your life, but the event of your death can also be a taxable one if you have been very successful financially. There is an estate tax in place on the federal level, and it can be a major factor when you are engaged in the process of inheritance planning. The federal estate tax can erode the wealth that you are leaving behind to your heirs considerably. At the time of this writing in 2013, the maximum rate of the tax is 40 percent. The amount of the federal estate tax …
What Does a Power of Attorney Accomplish?
A power of attorney is a legally binding document that is used by a grantor or principal to empower an agent or attorney-in-fact to act on behalf of the principal. A general power of attorney is used to give someone the ability to act in your behalf over a wide range of purposes. There is no particular expiration date. Once you give someone a general power of attorney he or she could act for you indefinitely, and the power would go into place immediately. Another type of power of attorney …
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