As many estate planners anticipated, the Internal Revenue Service has raised the limit on tax-free transfers during life or at death. Starting in 2015 that amount, known as the basic exclusion, will go up to $5.43 million per person, from $5.34 million this year. In the spirit of year-end planning, there will be a change in […]

Of course, in most families, the split is an equal one, giving adult siblings no reason to quibble over the disposition of cash and other assets. Yet some parents decide to single out one or more children for a bigger, smaller or differently structured inheritance. Even if the reasoning is valid — perhaps one child […]

Over the years, we’ve seen estate plans fail to do what they were intended to do. For your estate plan to remain a valuable asset for you and your heirs, you would be wise to avoid these eight common mistakes. Decide to get my estate in order, check. Get my estate plan prepared, check. Am […]

A 2012 study of 3,200 wealthy families by U.S. Trust showed that 70 percent failed to successfully transfer the family’s assets to the succeeding generation. The study found three reasons for this failure: lack of communication among family members; absence of a generally acknowledged purpose for family possessions; and lack of preparation on the part […]

Waiting to create an estate plan could result in significant out-of-pocket costs at the end of life. Or even worse, it could result in a person with Alzheimer’s disease being subject to the will of the courts. With the number of individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s skyrocketing, there is no time to wait to get your […]

The remains of Jim Thorpe can remain in Jim Thorpe, Pa. That was the ruling handed down on Thursday by a federal appeals court in Philadelphia in an unusual case involving a dispute between the family of the legendary Native American athlete and a small Pennsylvania town named after him. Do people really fight over burial places? Sadly, the […]

Gresham advocates laying the groundwork for the estate-planning talk with a few separately held, lead-up discussions on family values and history. After all, she said, “You want to build a sense of bonding and family before you introduce material that could be emotionally loaded.” When is the right time to discuss your estate plans with […]

You already may have resolved to create and monitor your business plan and develop a succession plan for your business. The first part of the resolution is fairly easy to achieve.  After all, everyone with a business needs a business plan.  But few of us really consider what would happen to our business – and our […]

According to the new survey, the most common types of financial loss reported: funds disappearing from accounts (reported by 33%); unauthorized purchase of products or services (reported by 23%). Are you or anyone you know a victim of elder abuse? With the occurrence of elder abuse largely underreported, there is likely someone you know that […]

There is no one right way to be a caregiver; everyone’s situation is different. You will find that, among a host of things, family dynamics, financial resources and the ability of your parent(s) to provide guidance for the support that they desire will shape your situation. If you’ve been tasked to set up care for […]