Any parent will tell you that the birth (or adoption) of a child shifts the nature of your thinking irrevocably. One day you look around and discover that your own wants and needs are no longer at the center of your life. We see evidence of this shift when planning for parents of young children,… Read More »
Posts Categorized: Estate Planning
Caregiver Agreements Reduce the Burden of Caring for Elderly Family Members
Anyone serving as a caregiver for an aging relative knows that it’s hard work no matter how much you love the person to whom you are providing care and service, and in many cases it can be a severe financial hardship as well. Studies have shown that the child who serves as the primary caregiver… Read More »
How the Future of the Estate Tax Will Impact YOU
The inauguration of Barack Obama is only days away, and many people are curious (to say the least) about what his presidency has in store. We all know there are changes ahead; some you may be looking forward to, and others about which you may be apprehensive. If you’re looking right now with an interested… Read More »
The State of The Estate Tax Under President Obama
When President Bush was elected in 2000, one of his campaign pledges was to make the estate tax go away. And Congress did, in fact, pass legislation that would abolish the estate tax. Kinda. Sorta. What they passed, the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGGTRA), enacted a series of increases in… Read More »
Beware of a “One Size Fits All” Financial Plan
Most Americans have become aware of the benefits of financial planners, and of having a financial plan of their own. And now with the recent Wall Street crisis, public talk about financial plans and goals (and how yours may be weathering the storm) has become a lot more common. With all of this, it may… Read More »
4 Common Estate Planning Mistakes
Estate planning can be a touchy subject. Luckily, more and more people are coming to realize just how crucial it is to plan for their deaths, but even knowing its importance, few people want to spend time thinking about it. We understand why people might shy away from it. After all, estate planning deals with… Read More »
Could YOU Be A Trust Fund Baby?
It used to be that trusts were for the wealthy. Those who had inherited money in trust were often labeled “trust fund babies,” and these were the people who had everything paid for and worried about nothing. This is no longer the case. Trusts are used by the middle class more and more, as a… Read More »
When Planning for the Future, Don’t Forget Your Pets
In our blog we often address how estate planning can help you provide for your children or protect your elderly parents or grandparents, but today let’s talk about another member of the family—Today we would like to address how estate planning can help you take care of your pets. According to this article by Angie… Read More »
Taking the Fear Out of Taxes
“In the world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.” –Ben Franklin It’s that time of year again. With only two days left of 2008 it’s time to turn our thoughts to doing our taxes once more; and unless you’re an accountant, there’s probably a certain amount of grumbling and procrastination… Read More »
Self Employed? Failure to Plan = Disaster
It used to be that people stayed at one company—one job—for their whole lives. Employers were benevolent, and almost part of the family; took care of families, once upon a time, offering health care coverage, life insurance, retirement packages… all this and an annual company picnic to boot! As we all know, the world is… Read More »