Many people were prompted to write or update their wills in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which is an important step in the estate planning process. All people will one day be asked to put those wills into effect. Those important people are known as executors or personal representatives. These are the friends or relatives [...]
The passing of a loved one presents unique emotional challenges related to grief as well as issues of how to handle their administrative affairs in the short term. Once someone has been appointed to handle the administration of probate, that executor will be the person responsible for closing out the estate and taking actions on [...]
By Clare Ansberry June 14, 2021 Nick Clement, 78, spent the last 10 years caring for his wife, Lucy, who had a progressive dementia called Lewy body as well as Alzheimer’s. Nick at the kitchen table where he and Lucy would have their meals./ Photo by Justin Merriman for The Wall Street Journal As her [...]
If you have a springing power of attorney document, this means that the document becomes active when you are incapacitated. One of the leading reasons why people choose a springing power of attorney is that it only becomes active in certain situations. However, if your power of attorney document requires that you be incapacitated for [...]
When thinking about your estate plan, you must consider what might happen to you or your loved ones if you were no longer able to care for yourself. This is an increasingly common situation as it relates to caregiving for adult children today. Emotional and financial stress can represent significant changes in their life so [...]
Retiring early might be something you've thought about for years and in fact, you're already envisioning how you'll spend your days. But retiring early requires advance planning of some of the complex factors associated with leaving the workforce before age 65. Studies from the Employee Benefit Research Institute show that only 11% of workers today [...]
Medicaid long-term care benefits traditionally pay mainly for nursing home care, but the federal government can grant “waivers” to states allowing them to expand Medicaid to include home and community-based services. The downside is that receiving care in a nursing home is an entitlement, while getting care at home is not. Medicaid is a [...]
The pandemic has had far reaching implications for many individuals and families and that has never been more true than now as it relates to the case for women. Women face a higher likelihood of a greater life expectancy than men, meaning that issues of long term care, health care costs, and how to afford [...]
Which assets should you plan to pass down? Which are those you should intend to live off of and how do taxes impact the equation? Thinking about all of these things together as part of your overall estate planning strategy is important and it should be discussed directly with your estate planning lawyer. Identifying your [...]
The vast majority of estates in the United States are not eligible for the federal estate tax but you may still be questioning how an asset will be appropriately determined as far as cost basis. Cost basis calculations for estates are different for those used for other tax purposes. In order to calculate capital gains [...]
