On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act), which became effective on January 1, 2020. The Act is the most impactful legislation affecting retirement accounts in decades. It will have a positive impact for many older Americans but could have negative tax consequences for many beneficiaries […]
Sweeping retirement changes were just signed into law that bring both positives (for savers) and potentially disastrous consequences (for heirs). The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act was signed into law on December 20, 2019, ushering in the largest retirement planning bill since the Pension Protection Act of 2006. The SECURE Act has […]
Bankruptcy may be one of the last things on your mind when you are creating an estate plan. Fortunately, the number of bankruptcy filings have declined as the economy has improved, but there were still a whopping 773,361 bankruptcy filings in the United States during the 12-month period ending June 30, 2019, according to statistics released […]
While we all want to provide financial help to our loved ones—whether they are family or close friends—it is important to understand that how the money is classified will directly affect your estate planning. Accordingly, the intent behind the transfer of the money is key when determining if it will be considered a loan, gift, or […]
Sometimes giving assets outright to a beneficiary – such a child, a grandchild or a special needs loved one – is not the ideal method of distributing assets in an estate plan. In such a scenario, a discretionary trust can be a good estate planning tool. Below is some basic information on discretionary trusts and how […]
