Roth IRAs and Your Estate Planning
Most people have at least a general understanding of Roth IRAs, but may not really understand how they might affect estate planning. Let’s see if we can clear up some of the questions and the most common confusion we see. First, what are Roth IRAs? William “Bill” Roth was a Republican U.S. Senator from Delaware […]
Retirement Account Beneficiary Designations
It is often difficult to figure out how to complete your retirement account beneficiary designation. Do you have a living trust? Should you name your trust as beneficiary? Are you married? Do you intend to leave money to charities — and should that money come from your retirement account(s)? All of these questions make it […]
January Roundup: What’s Up With the SECURE Act?
It’s the last Monday of the month, and that means it’s time for the January roundup of elder law news items. First of all, the SECURE Act was passed in late December, so the first few weeks of the year brought lots of discussion about it. We’ve rounded up some of the most interesting articles, […]
November Roundup: Death, Divorce, and Holiday Help
It may seem too early for the November roundup of elder law news items. But December is less than a week away, so it’s time. This month, in our survey of the elder law landscape, we stumbled upon a real-life circumstance that illustrates the conundrum that divorce sometimes creates for divorcing couples. Plus: tax updates, […]
Retirement Account Divided in Divorce
Arizona, of course, is a community property state. How does that affect the retirement account accumulated by one spouse during their marriage? Community property and the retirement account One spouse may have an interest in the other spouse’s retirement account, especially when it was accumulated during the marriage. State law, however, often takes a back […]
Federal Tax Cut Law Affects Seniors and Those With Disabilities
The Tax Cut and Jobs Act became law at the very end of 2017, and affects taxes for the current year. Many commentators have dissected how the tax cut law will affect tax rates, and business taxes. That’s not all the Act contains, however. A number of changes will particularly affect our older clients or […]
Estate Planning With Individual Retirement Account Trusts
JULY 18, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 27 One of the great things about our area of law practice is that the community of practitioners is just that — a community. Take, for instance, our good friend Amos Goodall from State College, Pennsylvania: he’s one of the leading elder law attorneys in the country. Amos is […]
You Have a Trust — Now You Need a Beneficiary Designation
MARCH 21, 2016 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 11 You have decided to create a revocable living trust, naming your oldest daughter as successor trustee. Your trust directs that, upon your death, $10,000 is to go to each of your grandchildren, $50,000 to the Good Intentions charity, and everything else will be divided equally among your three […]
Inherited IRA Not Protected From Creditors — How To Plan
JUNE 16, 2014 VOLUME 21 NUMBER 22 It’s not very often that the U.S. Supreme Court involves itself in legal issues related to estate planning and elder issues. Last week, though, the Court did just that — by ruling that an inherited IRA is not exempt from the beneficiary/owner’s creditors, at least in a bankruptcy […]
Even With No Estate Tax, Some Tax May Be Due on Inheritance
JUNE 9, 2014 VOLUME 21 NUMBER 21 Our clients are often confused about whether their heirs will owe any taxes on the inheritance they are set to receive. We don’t blame them — it’s confusing. Let us try to reduce the confusion. The federal estate tax limit was raised to $5 million and indexed for […]
IRA Beneficiary Designation Raises Ambiguity About Intent
JANUARY 6, 2014 VOLUME 21 NUMBER 1 Here’s an estate planning question we get asked a lot: if you have created a revocable living trust and transferred essentially all of your assets to the trust’s name, should you also make the trust beneficiary of your IRA, 401(k) and other retirement accounts? It’s a great question, […]
Planning for Retirement: Does the Three-Legged Stool Work?
DECEMBER 16, 2013 VOLUME 20 NUMBER 47 For decades accountants, financial planners, lawyers and government workers have talked about Social Security and the “three-legged stool.” The metaphor had a simple attraction, especially when Social Security was a young program. The three legs? Social Security, private retirement programs and personal investments. You should have some of […]
