Category Archives: Trusts

Tax Planning: Meat Loaf’s Estate

Writing note showing Tax Planning. Business concept for analysis of financial situation or plan from a tax perspective White pc keyboard with note paper above the white background

Using a bypass trust is another way to avoid the estate tax. In this case, Meat Loaf could have created a trust to hold an amount equal to his unused individual lifetime exclusion amount ($12.06 million), with any excess passing to his wife either outright or through a marital trust, therefore bypassing estate tax liability.

Celebrity Estates: Meat Loaf

Meat Loaf Rocker Estate Plan

By the time he died, Meat Loaf had appeared in hundreds of TV shows, endearing himself to a younger generation with roles in Wayne’s World and Fight Club. He married twice, and had two children.

Update Estate Plans as often as a Resume?

Elder lady with white haired planning her work while talking on cellphone

Is everything the same today as when you signed your will, trust agreement, and other estate planning documents? If not, then take steps to make sure your estate plan reflects those changes.

Time for an Estate Plan Checkup?

Document, contract, review.

Failure to take the time to craft an estate plan could leave the state where you reside at the time of your death in the driver’s seat. Laws in most states set forth how to apportion property.

A Supplemental Needs Trust Protects Loved Ones

Special needs trust application with clipboard and notepad.

Most people think disability affects other people. However, approximately 61 million U.S. adults live with a disability. That translates to one in four adults. What’s more, between one and four 20-year-olds become disabled before reaching retirement age.

Statements of Intent or Purpose

Letter of purpose or intent

The reasons a trust-maker creates a trust emerge as important. However, your intent or purpose for creating a trust imparts legal ramifications. Therefore, a trust-maker must express (in writing) their intent or purpose for creating the trust.

More About a Common Trust

Estate Planning Dividend

The trust created often leaves instructions to the trustee. In these, they note that older children earn an advancement from the common trust. They use this to pay for expenses such as buying a home or starting a business.