Last year’s uncertainty about the future of the estate and gift tax caused many people to put their estate planning on hold, even though estate and gift tax planning is only a teeny tiny piece of estate planning.  Now that the clouds have lifted and Congress has given us clarity, there is simply no reason for anyone to delay in implementing these five estate planning essentials:

Will.  Look around you right now.  Everything you see has to be distributed in the event of your death.  Your Will names the person you want to handle it all and can also indicate who you want to receive it all.  If you don’t have a Will, a Judge decides who is in charge of your affairs and State law provides who receives everything you own.  Take control now by getting your Will in place today.

Kids Protection Plan®.  If you have minor children at home, you need a comprehensive set of documents to ensure they are taken care of by the people you want, in the way you want, no matter what.  Not just for the long-term, but also in the immediate term if and when something happens to you.  A Kids Protection Plan® does just that.  Only a licensed Personal Family Lawyer® has the skills, training, and resources to create a comprehensive Kids Protection Plan for your family, so call us today if you do not have one in place already.

Advance Medical Directive.  Also known as a health care proxy, durable power of attorney for healthcare or living will, this document provides the legal right for the person of your choice (your representative) to make healthcare decisions for you in case you become incapacitated and unable to make those decisions for yourself.  Plus, it also lets that person know HOW you want decisions to be made if you cannot make them for yourself.  Without an Advance Medical Directive in place, your family could have their hands tied when it comes to ensuring you get the best care possible, in the way you would want.

Power of Attorney.  In the event you cannot communicate, your Power of Attorney will allow your family to gain access to your financial accounts so they can pay your bills and manage your financial affairs. Without this in place, they’ll face an expensive, long and public court process to take matters into their hands.  Don’t leave your family in that position, handle this today.

Trust.  If you own any property that would go through the probate process (a home, bank accounts, brokerage accounts, business assets, investment real estate, and other investment assets), you’ll want to make sure to have a Trust set up as soon as possible so your family isn’t stuck dealing with an expensive, unnecessary, long, and totally public Court process in the event of your death.  A revocable living trust puts the people you know, love and trust in control without having to go to Court. 

If you’re ready to do the right thing by your family, call our office today to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk. We normally charge $750 for a Family Wealth Planning Session, but because this planning is so important, I’ve made space for the next two people who mention this article to have a complete planning session at no charge. Call today and mention this article.

You could be unintentionally reducing your family’s wealth potential if you do not properly designate the beneficiaries of your IRAs.  Improper estate planning could mean that your IRA assets could pass to the wrong people or entities, so how you execute your beneficiary designations is critically important.

Here are some of the steps that need to be taken to properly name IRA beneficiaries:

Spouse:  A surviving spouse can either roll the funds into his or her existing IRA or establish an inherited IRA and take distributions that will be calculated based on his or her life expectancy.

Children:  Just like spouses, children can stretch required distributions from an inherited IRA over their own life expectancies.

Trusts:  A trust can be named a beneficiary of an inherited IRA, but there are a number of complex issues involved, so be sure to consult with a Personal Family Lawyer® for guidance. 

Contingent beneficiaries:  A surviving spouse may wish to disclaim interest in an inherited IRA, so the assets can pass to children or grandchildren.  Therefore, it is important to name secondary as well as primary beneficiaries for your IRA so assets remain within the control of your family.

If you’d like to learn more about how to properly designate retirement accounts or other financial assets for loved ones or have other estate planning questions, call our office today to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk. We normally charge $750 for a Family Wealth Planning Session, but because this planning is so important, I’ve made space for the next two people who mention this article to have a complete planning session at no charge. Call today and mention this article. 

Many parents want to know the best way to leave a home to their children. Before you make a plan, you should first be sure that your children actually want the property. We have seen too many parents take on unnecessary financial hardship in order to keep a home as an inheritance their children do not truly want.

That said, here are some of the most common ways to leave your home to your kids:

Will. You can leave real estate to anyone in your will. Once the will has been probated, your children will receive title to the property.

Trust. Using a trust is a convenient way to transfer property without having to go through probate. Title is transferred automatically upon a triggering event -- in this case, the death of the original property owner.

Joint tenancy with right of survivorship. This method allows you to add your children to the property title while you are still alive. When you pass, the children become owners of the property as surviving joint owners.

Transfer on death deed. This allows you to name a beneficiary for your property without giving a present interest in it to the beneficiary. Upon your passing, the beneficiary takes title.

Life estate. You can transfer title to the property while you are still living, and retain the right to live there during your lifetime. After your death, the beneficiary owns the entire interest in the property.

There are pros and cons to each of these options.  Deciding on the best option for you and your family should be done with the assistance of a Personal Family Lawyer®.

If you’d like to learn more about estate planning, call our office today to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk. We normally charge $750 for a Family Wealth Planning Session, but because this planning is so important, I’ve made space for the next two people who mention this article to have a complete planning session at no charge. Call today and mention this article.

A new bipartisan bill introduced in Congress – the Startup Innovation Act of 2013 – promises a big benefit to entrepreneurs via a new research and development tax credit.

The bill, which was originally introduced last summer, was reintroduced in the Senate in late January.  A House bill that would mirror the Senate bill is expected to be introduced shortly.

If passed, the new law would allow companies that are less than five years old and have less than $5 million in total revenue to claim a research and development tax credit of up to $250,000 against their employment taxes. 

It is typical for firms to deduct R&D expenses from taxable profits, but under the new law, if a company has not yet made a profit, it can deduct its R&D expenses from employment spending.

Legislators said that it has been the larger companies that have benefitted in the past from R&D tax credits; the new legislation is aimed at incentivizing entrepreneurs to invest in innovation.

Coupled with the changes to benefit startups and small businesses provided by the JOBS Act, this new bill offers a jumpstart to entrepreneurs considering the formation of new companies across the country. 

To determine how you might benefit from new legislation aimed at helping small businesses, call us today to schedule your comprehensive LIFT™ (legal, insurance, financial and tax) Foundation Audit.  Normally, this session is $1,250, but if you mention this article and we still have room on our calendar this month, we will waive that fee.

While the fiscal cliff tax deal cut by Congress last month targeted primarily higher wage earners, every American worker is feeling the effects of the payroll tax hike that went into effect on January 1, raising the Social Security payroll tax from 4.2% to 6.2%.

According to the Tax Policy Center, the average employee will feel an annual pinch of about $700 due to this increase.  Families with an annual household income of $100,000 face an income loss of approximately $2,000 a year.

A recent post on CNBC.com provides some tips on what we can all do to help offset this loss in income:

Adjust withholding.  Love getting that big fat IRS refund check every April?  Well, you’re not doing yourself any favors.  By banking with Uncle Sam, you are shorting yourself on funds you can use for your daily expenses.  Be sure you are taking the maximum number of withholding allowances to put that money back in your hands; you can check using the IRS Withholding Calculator.

Shop your insurance.  Financial experts advise consumers to shop around for car and home insurance every year, as rates are constantly changing.  You may be able to qualify for a number of discounts that will lower your rates as well.

Max out 401(k) contributions.  You can reduce your taxable income by contributing the maximum amount to your 401(k).  In 2013, you can contribute up to $17,500; if you’re over the age of 50, you can add another $5,500 in “catch-up contributions” for a total of $23,000.

Mortgage refinancing.  Mortgage rates are at an all-time low and you may be able to significantly reduce your monthly mortgage payment by refinancing now. 

Cut monthly fees.  Check all those auto-pay fees and be sure you still need those services you signed up for that take a chunk out of your take-home pay every month.  If your credit score is good, you should be able to qualify for low-rate credit cards as well.

If you’d like to learn more about preserving your assets, call our office today to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk. We normally charge $750 for a Family Wealth Planning Session, but because this planning is so important, I’ve made space for the next two people who mention this article to have a complete planning session at no charge. Call today and mention this article.

Most of us conduct a lot of our personal business online these days, so the necessity of being savvy when it comes to security has never been greater.  Hackers are becoming much better at scouring our online lives – including social media networks – to get the information they need to compromise our security.

Here are some steps we should all take to secure our information online:

Create strong passwords.  Yes, it’s a major pain to create different passwords for each of our online accounts, but it is one of the most effective ways to stop hackers in their tracks.  Experts say passwords should be at least 10 characters long and include a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers and characters.  Never use your name or initials in your password.

Security question switch-up.  Many sites now require you to answer security questions, like where you were born.  Instead of answering correctly, choose a place that has meaning to only you that is unrelated to your birthplace.

Choose double-verification.  If you have a Google account, you know about double verification: anytime you try to access your account from an unfamiliar computer, Google asks for your password and also sends a one-time password that they generate to your cell phone.  Whenever a site you regularly use offers you this option, use it.

Password-protect your Wi-Fi.  Never use an unsecured network in your home – hackers can break in, control your computer and even break into your bank account.  Create a strong password for your home Wi-Fi network.  And if you are using public Wi-Fi, always log out of your accounts when you are finished.

Never click on questionable links.  Ever get an email from a friend’s account that you know just doesn’t sound quite right?  That friend’s account has been hacked, and their contact list is being used to send spam.  If you get an email with just a link from a friend, ignore it.  Then let your friend know he or she has been hacked.

Back up your data.  Get an external hard drive to back up your data or store your files in the cloud via applications like Dropbox or Apple iCloud. 

If you’d like to learn more about protecting all your assets, including digital assets, call our office today to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk. We normally charge $750 for a Family Wealth Planning Session, but because this planning is so important, I’ve made space for the next two people who mention this article to have a complete planning session at no charge. Call today and mention this article.

A child’s wedding day is one of the happiest occasions in life for most parents, especially when they approve wholeheartedly of that child’s choice of mate.  Sometimes, however, the choice is not always welcomed and parents become concerned about how to protect assets they plan to leave their children in case of a divorce.

Fortunately, there are several estate planning devices that allow parents to shield assets from those who marry – and may divorce – their children:

Irrevocable trust – one of the most common ways to pass assets to children, an irrevocable trust provides asset protection as long as it is not mixed with marital funds. 

Preservation trust – this type of trust can be used to protect assets from a divorce by having your child place his or her assets into the trust and naming a beneficiary that is someone other than a spouse.

Post-marital agreement – many parents are unsuccessful in negotiating a prenuptial agreement before the wedding, and find it easier for children to accept the drafting of a post-nuptial agreement later on to protect family assets.

If you’d like to learn more about Trusts, Pre- and Post-Marital Agreements and other aspects of estate planning, call our office today to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk. We normally charge $750 for a Family Wealth Planning Session, but because this planning is so important, I’ve made space for the next two people who mention this article to have a complete planning session at no charge. Call today and mention this article.