Friday, May 22, 2009

Press Coverage of Estate Planning This Week (May 22, 2009)

Carolyn Bigda of Money Magazine points out that the depressed economy and recent federal estate tax changes may have made your current estate plan obsolete.  She lists five important questions to ask when determining if your estate plan needs updating.  See Rethinking Your Estate Plan (May 18, 2009).

Matthew M. Wallace, Esq. writes in the Times Herald (Port Huron, Mich.) about factors to consider and questions to ask a prospective attorney if you are seeking estate planning advice.  One nugget: "Planning an estate is the equivalent of legal heart surgery. You don't go to a family doctor for heart surgery, why would you go to a general practitioner for estate planning services?"  See Planning Matters: Picking Estate Attorney Complex (May 17, 2009).

Deborah Jacobs of the New York Times includes three stories in a recent section highlighting estate planning.  First, the benefits and pitfalls of powers of attorney for finances. See Putting Your Faith in a Power of Attorney (May 21, 2009).  Second, the importance of creating a record of accounts and passwords for online financial accounts and authorizing a trusted child or friend to manage the accounts if you become incapacitated.  See When Others Need the Keys to Your Online Kingdom (May 21, 2009).  Third, the practice of adult adoption, why it's done, and what can go wrong.  See Adult Adoption a High-Stakes Means to an Inheritance (May 21, 2009).

Arden Dale of Dow Jones Newswires writes about giving away stocks as gifts.  Several factors should be considered when choosing which stocks to give, and you will need to analyze the interplay between gift taxes, estate taxes and income taxes.  See Thinking About Taxes When Giving Stock (May 18, 2009)