Publications for Estate Planning
From commodity prices to the weather, uncertainty is a fact of life in agriculture. There is one essential factor for long term success, however, that a family farm can control – careful estate and succession planning.
Properly drafted and funded estate tax planning trusts for married persons can double the effective exemption.
On Friday, December 17, 2010, President Obama signed into law the "Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010."
In estate planning, clients sometimes overlook the difficulties and conflicts their children may face in dealing with their tangible personal property after their death.
Even the most well-laid plans can go awry. Once your estate plan is in place, avoid these common pitfalls.
There is no federal estate tax for decedents dying in 2010 unless Congress enacts legislation to reinstate the tax.
Parents are becoming increasingly concerned with what will happen to assets they leave to their children through trusts, wills, and beneficiary designations.
The beginning of 2010 marked the first time in 94 years that the United States has been without a federal estate tax.
A recent Michigan Court of Appeals decision further explained the meaning of "transfer of ownership" within the context of a joint tenancy.
Currently, the federal estate tax is set to expire on December 31, 2009 but return in 2011 with a $1 million federal estate tax exclusion.
Governor Jennifer Granholm recently signed into law legislation enacting the Michigan Trust Code effective April 1, 2010.
Multiple marriages have become increasingly common. More than 50% of divorced men and 43% of divorced women are remarried.
Beginning in year 2010, for the first time, an individual with adjusted gross income greater that $100,000 may convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.
Blended families currently outnumber traditional nuclear families. Based on current statistics and trends, the number is growing.
In a recent study of patients with advanced cancer, researchers found that “positive religious coping remained a significant predictor of receiving intensive life-prolonging care near death.”
The number of creditor lawsuits, foreclosures, and bankruptcies are exponentially increasing.
The 2009 year brought increases in both the federal estate tax exclusion amount and the annual gift tax exclusion amount.
The year 2008 was financially turbulent. The major stock market indexes recorded a decline of over 40%.
Under federal tax law each individual can transfer a certain value of property free from federal estate tax at death. This is commonly referred to as the "estate tax exclusion amount."
When a patient dies leaving unpaid medical expenses, a health care provider may discover that the patient owned most or all of his or her assets jointly with another individual.
