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Friday, July 15, 2011 Recent Press Coverage of Estate Planning (July 15, 2011)
Saabira Chaudhuri of the Wall Street Journal wrote two articles about the importance of keeping your heirs aware of key documents, and where the documents can be found. Chaudhuri points out that some insurance companies are failing to pay out life insurance policies because the company may not be obligated to determine if a policyholder is alive, they simply pay a claim when beneficiaries come forward. The articles lists 25 key documents that your heirs should be able to find quickly after you die, and a follow-up article lists several more. See The 25 Documents You Need Before You Die (July 2, 2011) and Read This Before You Die (July 7, 2011).
Caren Chesler of Private Wealth reports that wealthy Americans are leaving more of their wealth to charities and less to their children. Reasons for the trend, according to a survey by U.S. Trust, include that parents believe their children won’t be able to handle an inheritance, that their children will become lazy, that their children will make poor decisions, and that their children would be taken advantage of by outsiders. See Tough Love (July 2011).
Arden Dale of the Wall Street Journal points out that some states are repealing state estate taxes, some are hiking state estate taxes, and some states don’t have an estate tax. It leads to a lot of confusion, particularly for families that have residences in more than one state. See State Estate Tax Changes Make Plans Trickier (July 8, 2011).
Carolyn T. Geer of the Wall Street Journal stresses the importance of properly filling out beneficiary designation forms and discusses what types of financial accounts usually have beneficiary designations, who can be named as a beneficiary, and who should not be named as a beneficiary, among other issues. See Beware the Beneficiary Form (July 6, 2011). Friday, January 22, 2010 Press Coverage of Estate Planning this Week (Jan. 22, 2010)Ashlea Eberling of Forbes reviews charitable donations made between 2001 – 2007, and finds that as the federal estate tax was reduced, the percentage of wealthy decedents leaving charitable bequests also declined. Charitable organizations have contended for several years that allowing the estate tax to lapse, as it did at the beginning if this year, could lead to a significant reduction in overall charitable bequests. See Estate-Tax Lapse Could Hurt Charity (Jan. 19, 2010).
Robert S. Keebler, CPA, writes in Forbes about the correct ways to conduct a rollover of funds from a 401(k) into a traditional IRA, or from one IRA to another. If not done correctly, the account owner can end up paying taxes prematurely, or needing to hire an expert to untangle the ensuing mess. See The Dog Ate My IRA Rollover (Jan. 20, 2010).
Ann Pierceall of The State Journal Register (Springfield, Ill.) writes about distributing personal property to children and how to go about doing it. While deciding who gets what is never an easy discussion, it may be a comfort for parents to put it in writing. See Plan Now, Avoid Fights Later When Dealing With Parents’ Possessions (Jan. 16, 2010).
Gail Liberman writes in the Palm Beach Daily News about the most common estate planning mistakes and how to avoid them. One suggestion, don’t think that just because your family gets along great now, you need not worry about your estate. Many families who took this approach are now in court. See Estate Planning Missteps Can Be Costly (Jan. 16, 2010). | |
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Welcome to NorthEast Estates and Trusts, PLLC (NEET). NEET assists clients with Estate Planning, Probate and Estate Administration, Special Needs Planning and Advanced Estate Planning matters in Shelburne, Vermont as well as Charlotte, South Burlington, Burlington), Hinesburg, Essex, Essex Junction, Colchester, Winooski , Cambridge, Huntington, Richmond, Williston, Jericho , Underhill , Underhill Center and Fairfax. NEET also serves clients in Chittenden County, Addison County, Washington County, Lamoille County, Franklin County and Grand Isle County.
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