Do Heirs Have to Pay Debts from an Estate?
First, debts in a person’s estate are payable from the decedent’s assets in the course of administering their probate estate or administering their living trust estate.
Use Estate Planning to Prepare for Cognitive Decline
Data from sources like the U.S. Census Bureau shows in no uncertain terms that the U.S. population has grown older over the prior two decades.
Estate Planning for Blended Families
There are many different configurations of blended families. However, they are generally made up of married couples who have children from previous marriages or relationships.
Will Making a Gift Conflict with Medicaid?
People usually make gifts for three reasons—because they enjoy giving gifts, because they want to protect assets, or minimize tax liability. However, gifting in one’s elder years can have expensive and unintended consequences, as reported in the article “IRS standards for gifting differ from Medicaid” from The News-Enterprise. The IRS gift tax becomes expensive, if gifts are large. However, each individual has a lifetime gift exemption and, as of this writing, it is $12.06 million, which is historically high. A married couple may make a gift of $24.12 million. Most people don’t get anywhere near these levels. Those who do are advised to do estate and tax planning to protect their assets. The current lifetime gift tax exemption is scheduled to drop to $5.49 million per person after 2025, unless Congress extends the higher exemption, which seems unlikely. The IRS also allows an annual exemption. For 2022, the annual exemption was $16,000 per person. Anyone can gift up to $16,000 per person and to multiple people, without reducing their lifetime exemption. Be sure to read our article, IRS Announces New Lifetime and Gift Tax Exemptions. People often confuse the IRS annual exclusion with Medicaid requirements for eligibility. IRS gift tax…
Protecting Assets with a Trust vs. Limited Liability Company
To protect assets effectively, you have to store them in the right legal entity. However, that can depend on whether you’re looking to protect business assets, avoid estate taxes, or protect personal assets from legal liability while running a business.
Protect Cryptocurrency in Your Estate Plan
Cryptocurrency has become a new wrinkle in the development of an estate plan.
Caring for Your Aging Mom
Mom’s aging. And the faithful caregiver who has been there for you throughout your life may now be starting to show signs of aging like forgetfulness or anxiety over making big decisions. If dad's passed away or unable to help care for mom, sooner than later, whether she wants to admit it or not, she will need your help. As life expectancy increases, and baby boomers advance well into senior years of their own, the need for caregiving in Iowa Falls will only continue to rise. But who will provide caregiving for mom once her memory really fades or she needs regular nursing care? What happens if a nursing home is necessary? Do you know whether mom has a plan for nursing care expenses if she might need it? What legal documents does she have in place to express her wishes for care? According to Wealth Psychology Expert and Coach Kathleen Burns Kingsbury, 61% of women would rather talk about their own death than money. Many older women in the Midwest were raised thinking that “it’s a man’s job to manage money,” and therefore, women are often uncomfortable talking about money or finances or may simply be unaware of their…
Revocable Trusts Must Be Funded to Make Estate Plan Work
The primary benefits of revocable trusts only are available if a revocable trust is FUNDED during life. Unfortunately, experienced estate planning attorneys often have clients who delay the funding of their revocable trusts until it is too late and miss many of the benefits that these trusts provide.
What You Need to Know About Estate Taxes
Knowing the tax rules can help you pass on more of your money to your loved ones while minimizing taxes.
Protect Your Elderly Parents from Scammers
Thinking on a very practical level, if you were a thief and had to choose a target, it would likely be someone who has wealth and is vulnerable—the picture of an elderly person, especially one who is likely to be isolated and may have cognitive issues. According to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers aged 60 and older filed 467,340 fraud reports in 2021, reporting total losses of more than $1 billion. A recent article from cbsnews.com, “How to protect elderly parents from financial scams,” says that consumers age 60 and older are less likely to report losing money to fraud than those aged 18—59. Still, when they do report a loss, it tends to be for more money, especially among those 80 and older. They have the highest median loss of all groups. Older adults in states like North Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska are likelier to lose money on scams involving tech support, prizes, sweepstakes, lotteries and friends and family impersonations. What can you do to protect your elderly parents against scammers? Talk about it. Scams target everyone. Therefore, it is an easy topic to bring up. First, start the conversation with your experiences or a trending news story. Next,…
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