If you want your loved ones to have an easy experience with your estate after you pass away, one of the most popular methods of doing this is by avoiding probate. Leaving as much as possible to your loved ones is possible with some common estate planning methods that can also help avoid costly probate […]

There are some situations where it simply makes sense for a child to buy out a share in the family business. The other option is for the parent to gift shares or to leave shares in a will, trust, or foundation. The challenge is that these same parents might need capital to rely on in […]

While most estates will not owe federal estate or gift tax because of the fact that you can give away or leave much behind without tax consequences, you should still be aware of the estate tax. More people are growing their wealth into a position of needing to plan for estate taxes.  Even if you’re […]

Many retired individuals have access to both a tax-deferred account and a tax-free IRA. As a result, common advice from financial advisors includes suggestions for leaving the Roth behind to your children as it allows a tax-free withdrawal system over the course of their life. This is not always true, however.  If you instead use […]

  In the post-recession era, family businesses have become extremely important. Many disenfranchised workers took the opportunity to launch their own companies during this time, and now home businesses make up 50 percent of gross domestic product and nearly 60 percent of all jobs in the U.S.  Despite this rapid growth in the home business […]

Several of the country’s biggest health insurance companies are planning to merge, but this is raising concerns about a serious lack of competition in the Medicare marketplace. According to a new report, in fact, there is not enough competition anywhere in the country when it comes to Medicare. Research comes from the Commonwealth Fund, which […]

It is expected that the IRS will shortly announce changes to the transfer of corporate shares, limited liability corporation interests, and limited partnership interests to family members. In 1990, rulings pronounced the elimination of discounting the valued of such transferred assets, but it looks like these benefits could be in jeopardy entirely.  The courts have […]

Although most people are aware of the litigious nature of society today, they often do not follow this up with the proper planning necessary to protect their assets. It is well worth your time to put structures in place to protect you from future litigation. Without any planning, you could be putting your assets in […]

Suddenly having assets that you didn’t anticipate can be difficult to manage even when you’re excited about the new prosperity. A sudden influx of wealth presents its own set of problems that require a measured and deliberate response.  Give yourself a little bit of time to adjust to the shock first. During this period, avoid […]

The foundation of a healthy family business is in adopting and using standard policies and procedures that help to avoid the informal setting that many family companies might be tempted to default to. When business and ownership interests overlap with family relationships, conflict is naturally more likely to emerge.  One of the keys to handling […]