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Work on Your Estate Plan Like Your Golf Game
August is National Golf Month. As with golf, an estate plan takes careful preparation and continual refinement for the best results. You step up to the ball and take practice swings. It is a shot you have made hundreds of times. The breeze is a little stronger. The grass is damp. The same old sand… Read more
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Less Is More—Until It Is Not
With estate planning, less is not more. More is more. Your estate plan should include multiple tools that work together to provide comprehensive protection under a multitude of circumstances. A will directs how to distribute your assets upon your death and names a guardian for children. Trusts offer control over the inheritance you leave behind… Read more
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Why “Good Enough” Is Not Enough
A minimalist mindset might be fine for your living space, but not your estate plan. A minimalist estate plan that includes a will and power of attorney for health care might hold up under routine, predictable circumstances, but it can easily fall short when things go sideways and become more complicated. A will with outright… Read more
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The $19,000 a Year Gift Exclusion and Medicaid
You can give up to $19,000 annually to anyone and do not have to report it to the IRS. You can give this amount to as many people as you like. This is the annual gift tax exclusion, which changes for inflation. Medicaid helps pay for long-term care services (e.g., nursing home care). There is… Read more
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Timing and Details Matter
Celebrity deaths serve as a reminder of estate planning principles that may apply to everyone. The circumstances of the Hackman-Arakawa deaths were unusual, but simultaneous deaths are fairly common, such as car accidents, house fires, and natural disasters. Life is unpredictable. Estate plans must account for contingencies, including the possibility of simultaneous deaths. Survivorship clauses… Read more
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Simultaneous Death Laws
Simultaneous death laws were created to resolve uncertainties when people die close in time to each other. Before such laws, the lack of evidence about who died first could lead to legal battles and inconsistent outcomes. Courts made presumptions based on factors such as age or health that were arbitrary and unreliable, and assets could… Read more
