When crafting an estate plan, an important component is the Financial Power of Attorney document. In a financial power of attorney [1], you designate a trusted decision maker (agent or attorney-in-fact) to act on your behalf if you become disabled or unable to manage your financial affairs. Depending on the provisions you choose to include, your agent […]
Meat Loaf, whose real name was Michael Lee Aday, passed away earlier this year at the age of seventy-four. The singer behind 1977’s Bat Out of Hell—one of the best-selling albums of all time—experienced ups and downs befitting his larger-than-life persona. He hit bottom with his 1983 bankruptcy but rode a 1990s career rebirth to newfound […]
The American Dream envisions home ownership for everyone. And most of us save for this purchase with the thought of passing it on to our families one day. But questions about ownership and how it’s passed on are pretty common. Questions like, “If I give my home to my child in my will, can they take […]
As a single individual, you may feel overwhelmed about estate planning. If you don’t have many assets, you may wonder if an estate plan is even worth it. Yet, for single people, estate planning matters very much, since there is more than just probating your estate. Questions of who can act on your behalf when you […]
“Basis” is a term used frequently in tax law. But for many, the term is unfamiliar and intimidating—perhaps something they feel is better left to a certified public accountant to worry about. Nevertheless, a basic understanding of the concept can be very helpful for understanding important estate planning strategies used by your attorney and financial or […]
It’s a constant, death and taxes. And even death doesn’t stop the tax man. As part of wrapping up your estate, your executor must file a final income tax return with the IRS. This tax return is for the portion of the last year you were alive. For Whom Must an Estate Tax Return Be Filed? […]
Having a clear conversation about death and dying is never fun. Most people avoid them because they invoke feelings about our inevitable demise. Broaching this subject can be particularly difficult for parents and their adult children. Adult children may avoid bringing up the topic for different reasons. The most common are they don’t want to think […]
With our society becoming increasingly mobile and international travel becoming more affordable than ever before, families and family-like relationships have steadily grown far more diverse in terms of citizenship. It is no longer uncommon for spouses from different countries to retain citizenship in their homelands. Many couples split their time between the United States and another […]
