estate planning: The Thing You're Forgetting To Update In Your Estate Planning Documents
- 04/12/11 05:00 AM
Imagine you have passed away suddenly. You have not updated your estate-planning documents. Your current spouse, grief-ridden, amidst arranging your costly funeral and having to break the unfortunate news to all of your family and friends discovers your ex-spouse was the main beneficiary in your will. Not the way you want to be remembered?
Financial adviser Roger Wohlner tells you all about updating your will and other estate-planning documents on today's Equifax Personal Finance Blog.
There are more factors to consider when updating your estate-planning than you might think. Of course you should update when there is a new spouse, child … (4 comments)
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estate planning: Estate Tax Filing Choices for 2010. Which One is Right for You?
- 03/16/11 04:02 AM
Tax season is four weeks away. Do you know how to file your estate taxes?
Equifax Personal Finance Blog tax expert Eva Rosenberg explains the two options for filing estate taxes this year.
This past December, we got the estate tax law we all expected to see in the first quarter of 2010. The 2010 Tax Relief Act establishes an exclusion from estate taxes for $5 million dollars per person, effective for all of 2010 through December 31, 2012.
How does this year-end tax law affect all those people who died during 2010?
The Tax Relief Act gives estate … (1 comments)
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estate planning: Maximize Your IRA Benefits With An Inherited IRA
- 12/14/10 12:37 AM
Whenever people start to talk about IRAs and estate planning, you can almost see the numbness come over an audience. I can understand why confronting your own mortality comes well behind the name of the latest contestant to be kicked off Dancing with the Stars on the interest scale.But one aspect of IRAs is genuinely exciting, because it permits you to take a humdrum, modest IRA and turn it into a huge windfall for your heirs. It’s very easy to achieve this goal. Just leave an IRA to a beneficiary of your choice.This advice comes from Dan Solin, author of The Smartest … (2 comments)
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estate planning: Here's the Good News on Estate Tax Changes
- 09/22/10 06:47 AM
The Good News on Estate TaxesFor 2010, there are no federal estate taxes. Families will avoid IRS taxes as high as 55 percent.The average person’s estate, with assets worth $1.3 million or less, will still get a stepped-up basis. That means the assets will be revalued to the fair market value at date of death (or six months later). This has two benefits:1. You won’t have to dig up old records to prove the purchase price or cost adjustments for tax purposes.2. When selling assets soon after death, you won’t have any capital gains taxes to pay.A surviving spouse gets the … (0 comments)
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estate planning: Inheriting a House Leads to Sibling Rivalry
- 07/23/10 04:47 AM
I had a reader write in asking about how to handle a sticky situation involving her sister an inherited property and lots and lots of fees. Dealing with the loss of a parent is hard enough, stressing over selling and maintaining an inherited property makes the whole thing even harder.
Q: My sister and I inherited a townhome when our father died last year. A Realtor has estimated the current value to be about $160,000, with no mortgage on the property. The will stated that we each get half of the property.
The townhome has been for sale on and off … (1 comments)
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estate planning: Power Of Attorney And a Parent's Home
- 05/14/10 09:53 AM
When you deal with a parent's affairs, you should keep in mind that you might need to have two documents at hand to help them out. One document is a power of attorney for health care and the other document is a power of attorney over the parent's finances.
If you have a power of attorney over the parents financial matters, make sure you understand what you should do and shouldn't do. You usually won't see problems with siblings and even parents if you use the parent's money directly for the parent's care and well being. But if you decide to … (2 comments)
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estate planning: Power of Attorney And A Parent
- 05/12/10 08:29 AM
At some point, part of a wise estate plan is having someone hold a power of attorney for your financial matters. If you are incapacitated or otherwise unable to handle your affairs, you might want to have a back-up plan.
When a parent comes to the realization that they should give a power of attorney, they will usually select one or several of his or her children to have that power. Along with that power of attorney, the parent should also have instructions as to what the child should do with the power of attorney, particularly if there are many siblings … (3 comments)
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estate planning: Family Estate Planning Is Needed When Children Have Differing Views
- 05/10/10 06:29 AM
If you have the ability to make life easier for your children, wouldn't you? If you can, you should hire an estate planner or at a minimum have a will and living trust to assist your family in transferring assets to them after you die.
If your children have different incomes and savings and you are going to divide your estate differently, make sure you spell that out in your documents. And, if you have a home and one of your children lives with you in that home, make sure you consider what should be done with the home upon … (0 comments)
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estate planning: Estate Planning: Who Will Inherit Your Home?
- 04/19/10 06:57 AM
When thinking about estate planning, you should consider who will inherit your house. Do you want your spouse to inherit your house? If your spouse doesn't own the house with you, he or she may not inherit your house.
A prenuptial agreement can help establish who owns the house and what will be done with the house. Consult an estate planning attorney to help determine what will happen with your house.
Read the full story about estate planning at ThinkGlink.com
… (2 comments)
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estate planning: Quit Claim Deed Causes Family Problems After Death
- 04/19/10 05:35 AM
Dividing inheritance between family members after a loved one's death can cause many problems. Quit claim deeds can cause problems if they're not filled out correctly.
A quit claim deed can divide the property among family members or even transfer property to one person. Make sure a quit claim deed is filled out properly and inheritance is divided properly between family members.
Don't let a quit claim deed cause unnecessary problems after a family member's death.
Read the full story at ThinkGlink.com
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estate planning: Dividing Estate Property Causes Sibling Rivalry
- 04/16/10 04:45 AM
Dividing estate property after a loved one dies can cause many problems between family members. If the will was not kept up to date and family circumstances changed over the years, dividing estate property can become even more difficult.
Extended and blended families can have claim to estate property. The divorce decree and the will can have information on how to divide estate property among siblings and blended families.
Read more on this topic of dividing your estate at ThinkGlink.com
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estate planning: Inheritance Tax On Real Estate Comes Up With A Jointly Owned Property
- 04/14/10 07:02 AM
Many people today still you the quit claim deed to add a child to their property. Though adding your child to your property may make it easier to transfer property from one generation to the next this may also cause problems.
Because your child is joint owner of your property he/she may have problems with inheritance, estate and property taxes.
Read more at ThinkGlink.com
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estate planning: Joint Ownership Of Inherited Property Can Cause Trouble
- 04/13/10 04:25 AM
There's nothing worse than passing down a home held by a family only to have the children squabble over how to keep the home and whether to sell it or not.
The joint ownership of the home can make sibling rivalry worse and cause further family trouble. If you are a parent and plan on passing down property to your children make sure that you spell out your wishes for joint ownership to avoid any future sibling rivalry.
To read more go to ThinkGlink.com
… (0 comments)
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estate planning: Current Estate Tax Laws Causes Problems For Some Homeowners
- 04/05/10 03:31 AM
In years past, if you inherited property, you could inherit property and immediately sell it and you would incur no tax liability.
But in 2010, if you die, your estate will pay no estate taxes at all; no matter how large the estate is. But if you inherit the property, you now have to pay tax if you sell the property on the basis of what the difference between what the property cost the owner (plus some expenses) and what you sold the property for (plus expenses).
We're expecting estate laws to change again, so current estate planning is still in … (0 comments)
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estate planning: Estate Planning For Elderly Parents
- 03/02/10 09:32 AM
At a certain time, children should make sure that their parents have undertaken some form of estate planning. The natural impulse of children in to transfer assets from the parent to the child.
But that transfer may not always be the right solution. Parents might need their assets, and it's often not a good idea to transfer them to their kids' names.
The good news is that there no real tax advantage to doing this and you might even get into trouble later on. While the estate tax is still in limbo (it has disappeared entirely in 2010 but will come … (5 comments)
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estate planning: Estate Planning Nearly Impossible for 2010 and Beyond
- 02/11/10 07:02 AM
The new year, 2010 is finally here, and the repeal of the estate tax has come. But will it actually go away?
Ten years ago, the slow process of repealing the estate tax started. Due to budget issues, Congress decided to only pass a law that would last ten years. The last of those ten years would eliminate the estate tax completely. Now people are trying to plan their estates and they don't know what Congress will do now.
Pending legislation addresses jobs, highway construction through the end of 2010, and a tax cut for small businesses hiring some workers, but … (0 comments)
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estate planning: Should You Pay Spouse's Mortgage Debt After Their Death?
- 09/10/09 09:15 AM
Q: Am I responsible for my deceased husband’s mortgage debt? My name was not on my spouses mortgage debt when he died. Can the mortgage company hold me responsible for this debt?
A: My condolences on the loss of your spouse. It’s unlikely that the mortgage lender can hold you responsible for your spouse's debt after his death. Your deceased husband’s estate is responsible for the debt on the house. If his estate has assets to pay off the debt, the estate may have the obligation to settle those debts.
If you want to keep the house, you will have … (2 comments)
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estate planning: Estate Planning To Avoid The Gift Tax Dilema
- 08/19/09 03:44 AM
Do you know the amount that one individual can give to another without triggering the gift tax?
According to the IRS, for 2009 it's $13,000.
But what if you wanted to give your child land, and just make the value of that land $13,000? If you owned the Mona Lisa, could you give it a value of $13,000 so that you could give it to your children and avoid the gift tax? I don’t think the IRS would look very kindly on that.
You may have to provide an appraisal or other valuation that would be acceptable … (0 comments)
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estate planning: Partnership Agreement Ensures Estate Planning Wishes
- 03/30/09 06:21 AM
When you're buying a home with a partner but you're not married you may be concerned about protecting each of your interests in the property.
A partnership agreement drawn up by a knowledgeable estate planning attorney can help. The partnership agreement will spell out who gets what in terms of estate planning in case one partner dies before the other.
Question: My life partner and I are buying a house. He wants to put his daughter’s name on the deed instead of his own along with mine. If he predeceases me and I want to sell, could I sell without … (1 comments)
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estate planning: How To Sell A Property With Multiple Owners
- 03/15/09 03:50 PM
As you get older, in order to protect your property, you may want to transfer property titles to your children's names. When you transfer title to property before you die you may see your children fight about the property and whether to sell it.
If your children feel one of their siblings is getting a free ride or cheating, the property situation could get ugly. To sell the property your children may have to involve a real estate attorney who can help with a partition lawsuit or enable swapping property.
Here's the story of one Think Glink reader, also available on … (2 comments)
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Imagine you have passed away suddenly. You have not updated your estate-planning documents. Your current spouse, grief-ridden, amidst arranging your costly funeral and having to break the unfortunate news to all of your family and friends discovers your ex-spouse was the main beneficiary in your will. Not the way you want to be remembered?
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