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February 22, 2021

Gift Planning for the Biden Era

By Christine Collins Madrid, CPA, Tax Director

The past few years have been a roller coaster between the pandemic, the California wildfires, and the political climate.  We have seen massive tax acts enacted, including the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 that doubled the estate and gift tax exemption to $11.7 million for single filers and $23.4 million for joint filers (indexed for inflation). (more…)

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Categories: Family Wealth & Individual Tax Planning, Winter 2021
Tags: Christine Collins Madrid, estate planning,
February 12, 2021

Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket, or All Your Wealth in One Stock

It’s been said repeatedly: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Yet many individuals often disregard this saying. And it comes back to haunt them or their heirs at a future date.

If you’ve built up a substantial nest egg over the years, it’s likely you feathered it through various investments. This growth may have been fueled by one or two specific stocks. For instance, if you acquired Amazon or Apple before those stocks took off, you may be sitting on a goldmine. (more…)

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Categories: Family Wealth & Individual Tax Planning, Individual Retirement Accounts
Tags: Diversification, estate planning, Investment holdings,
January 25, 2021

Estate Planning Pitfall - Your Elderly Relative Won’t Commit to Estate Planning

There are many obstacles in the path to estate planning. One of the more difficult to overcome is when an elderly parent or family member refuses to cooperate or even acknowledge the need for estate planning measures. And this could lead to problems — such as family feuds and potential financial disasters — down the road.

(more…)

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Categories: Family Wealth & Individual Tax Planning
Tags: estate planning, Family Meeting,
September 23, 2020

Naming Your Executors and Trustees

Have you chosen the executor of your estate? How about the trustee for trusts you intend to establish? It’s important to select someone who’s capable of handling these duties on your family’s behalf.

In some cases, the executor of your estate and the trustee of your trusts will be the same person. In any event, it’s vital to designate a successor to both of these positions. (See Sidebar below, Provide a stand-in for these roles) (more…)

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Categories: Family Wealth & Individual Tax Planning
Tags: Estate executor, estate planning, Trustee,
September 22, 2020

Is Now the Right Time to Forgive Intrafamily Loans?

Whether you made intrafamily loans years ago or perhaps this year in response to a loved one’s financial troubles due to the COVID-19 pandemic, consider forgiving those loans. Why? A record-high gift and estate tax exemption amount and a low-interest-rate environment add up to an ideal time to forgive intrafamily loans.

Under the right circumstances, an intrafamily loan can be a powerful estate planning tool because it allows you to transfer wealth to your loved ones free of gift or generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxes — to the extent the loan proceeds achieve a certain level of returns. (more…)

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Categories: Family Wealth & Individual Tax Planning
Tags: estate planning, Gift and Estate Tax Exemption, Income Tax, Intrafamily loans,
June 1, 2020

The Benefits of a Durable Power of Attorney

No one likes to think about being incapacitated, but the threat is quite real. According to recent statistics, in the United States, about one out of every 10 people age 65 or older are affected by Alzheimer’s disease, while roughly one-third of the adult population has at least one of the leading risk factors for stroke. Don’t think that you’re immune.

This raises some troubling thoughts about how your personal and financial affairs will be handled in the event you’re incapacitated. If you haven’t already done so, address the possibility as part of a comprehensive estate plan. One common solution is to create a power of attorney. The optimal protection is afforded by a durable power of attorney. (more…)

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Categories: Family Wealth & Individual Tax Planning
Tags: Durable Power of Attorney, estate planning,
May 12, 2020

Make Your Thoughts Crystal Clear to Your Family

Generally, every estate plan requires a will, but this main attraction may be complemented by other documents, like a letter of instructions. The letter, unlike a valid will, isn’t legally binding but can be valuable to surviving family members.

If you haven’t done so already, draft a letter of instructions and, most importantly, make sure that others know where and how to locate it. (more…)

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Categories: Family Wealth & Individual Tax Planning
Tags: Contents of a will, estate planning, Letter of instructions,
May 4, 2020

Estate Planning Pitfall - You’re Hiding Assets Without Telling Anyone

George was a successful entrepreneur. He accumulated significant wealth during his lifetime, including several real estate parcels, a wide array of securities, retirement plan accounts and IRAs, and various collectibles, in addition to the home he owned jointly with his wife, Theresa. He also took out several life insurance policies on his life.

In his will, George designated Theresa as the beneficiary of most of the assets but divided up some of the other property between his two children. George named his wife and children as equal beneficiaries on life insurance policies. Sadly, George died earlier this year. (more…)

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Categories: Family Wealth & Individual Tax Planning
Tags: Beneficiaries, estate planning, Hidden Assets,
April 28, 2020

How Your Digital Assets Fit Into Your Estate Plan

The digital revolution has touched virtually every aspect of our lives. The result is that you likely have at least a handful of “digital assets.”

These assets may include personal assets, such as online bank and brokerage accounts, and business assets, such as your company’s website, domain name, client databases and electronic invoices. As with all your assets, you need to account for them in your estate plan. (more…)

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Categories: Family Wealth & Individual Tax Planning
Tags: Digital Assets, Electronic records, estate planning,
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