Trusts, like everyone else, pay taxes when they earn income or sell capital assets for a profit. The tax liability, however, can be shifted to – or more properly retained by – the Grantor (the person creating the trust) if the Grantor retains certain powers identified in IRC Sections 671 – 679. Trusts are frequently […]
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People often visit us and ask about using a trust to protect assets in the event they go to a nursing home. They are asking about trusts that don’t count toward Medicaid eligibility and protect their assets. Although the name at the top of the document is unimportant, these are frequently referred to as Medicaid […]
Last year we wrote about qualified longevity annuity contracts, sometimes referred to as QLACs. On July 19, 2024, the IRS issued final regulations covering how the contracts will be treated. The regulations are summarized as follows: In 2014, the Treasury Department and the IRS amended the regulations under section 401(a)(9) to provide special rules that […]
People regularly ask us whether they should use a trust to protect assets in case they go to a nursing home. The answer is, … maybe. If your crystal ball can predict the future, then we can answer that question with certainty (our crystal ball doesn’t work). Medicaid has rules that apply to any trust […]
The following video clips are from Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meetings where Warren Buffett fielded questions regarding estate planning: 2013 Annual Meeting: 2023 Annual Meeting:
From time to time, I read “ruminations” published by David E. Hultstrom. Along with Anitha Rao, David is the co-founder of Financial Architects and is the smartest person who never successfully taught me how to use a financial calculator. In his July 1, 2023 post, David answered someone’s question about retirement this way: “You can […]
Sean McKissick, a probate litigation attorney, recently wrote “the sad truth is that there is no impregnable suit of armor that will absolutely protect your estate plan from the slings and arrows that may come its way after you die.” He’s right. I began my career as a litigator and we would tell people that […]
On July 26, 2023, Investmentnews.com released a story titled “Our glass is half empty” — why your clients are worried. It discusses a recent survey conducted by Blackrock which indicates that the number of U.S. retirement savers who feel they are “off track” has more than doubled since 2021. As a result, nearly 30% of […]
A recent article in Kiplinger, How To Avoid Aretha Franklin and Prince’s Estate Planning Errors, discusses the Estates of James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Prince. Each of them left estates that were the subject of years of litigation. Each of them could have avoided those problems by planning for their death. Among the recommendations in […]
A recent article in Kiplinger says Saving for Retirement Isn’t Enough: You Need a Wealth Plan. But haven’t we all heard that? If you don’t have a plan, then you’re planning to fail. The article likens retiring without a plan to boarding a plane with insufficient fuel, no emergency life jackets and no air masks. […]
