To help your loved ones avoid this troubling statistic, educate, and update your extended family about wealth transfer goals. Finally, it alerts them to the plan you created to achieve these goals.
Category Archives: Assets
The person who was paid must not have been reimbursed by their insurance company. Reimbursed amounts do not qualify for eligibility under the unlimited medical exclusion tax-free gift category.
From a practical perspective, the grandchildren’s parents often understand how to use the money for the benefit of their children. What’s more, they may spend or invest it appropriately on their children’s behalf.
Even if Congress fails to act, in 2026, the current rate sunsets. This cuts rates in half to about $6 million per individual. This blog post discusses ILIT Trusts. So, read on.
Regardless of why a parent would disinherit a child, they should not disinherit as a tool to manipulate. Disinherited children may feel angry. This could lead to turmoil within the family.
Naming your partner as the pay-on-death (POD) or transfer-on-death (TOD) beneficiary often leads to pitfalls. Some of these occur when you name them on beneficiary designation forms. The POD or TOD option allows you to maintain control of the account during your lifetime.
An important first step for creating an estate plan? Take an inventory of your money and property. Regardless of your wealth or financial struggles, everything you own is part of your estate and should be listed–or at least accounted for– in your inventory.
Many parents express concern their in-laws becoming outlaws. Their children may divorce. In this case, a divorcing spouse could seize their children’s inherited money and property .
Distressed children often call estate planning attorneys. Their deceased parents wrote a will or a trust without itemizing an inventory. So the kids have no idea which accounts, insurance policies, or items of real and personal property their parent owned.
Keep a majority of the details private until your death, Start the conversation with successor trustees.