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Taxes and inheritance issues go together like Halloween and trick or treating. Tax planning is a critical part of estate planning, and families who wish to transfer assets from one generation to the next need to prepare for both aspects, as settling an estate can easily become quite complicated. Many estate plans include the use […]

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With every state seeking additional revenue and every candidate seeking additional votes, estate taxes have become part of many politicians’ platforms. Most of us pay more attention to estate taxes on the federal level, but estate taxes on the state and federal level have changed a lot in recent years. Not everyone is clear on […]

extended family

The expressions change from country to country, but the sentiment remains the same: passing family wealth from the first generation to the second generation is difficult, and extending it to the third generation is nearly impossible. Described as “clogs to clogs in three generations” by the British, “from shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves” from the Americans, and […]

Family Portrait At Christmas

The expressions change from country to country, but the sentiment remains the same: passing family wealth from the first generation to the second generation is difficult, and extending it to the third generation is nearly impossible. Described as “clogs to clogs in three generations” by the British, “from shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves” from the Americans, and […]

woman looking through the window pane

Trusts are a time-tested pragmatic tool to help individuals and couples achieve specific goals, whether they are related to transferring assets, managing tax liabilities or protecting yourself or your family from other financial threats. Trusts are not just for the wealthy. However, they are not do-it-yourself projects. There are many different kinds of trusts, and […]

Happy old couple

Second and subsequent marriages that occur later in life present challenges when it comes to estate planning. While no longer unusual or unique – nearly 42 million Americans have been married more than once – planning to provide for the surviving spouse, be fair to children from previous marriages and protect surviving spouses and adult […]

hospital signage

When their daughter had a breakdown while attending college, there was nothing that Keisha Sacher’s parents could do when she refused to come home. At age 19, she was an adult. They had no legal control over her. When she finally did return to their home, the family endured a nightmare of her drug addiction, […]

brown dog

If you are a pet owner, chances are you love your pets and consider them family members. We love them, we buy them toys, and it is not usual for people to bury their beloved pets in pet cemeteries. However, we often do not make plans for what will happen to our pets if we […]

best of friends

Young children are often the driving force for parents to come to see an estate planner and set up a trust. The concern that the worst possible situation may occur and the children will be raised without their parents is unfortunately something that must be considered. When parents do not plan ahead for their minor […]

Grandfather Helping Teen

Trusts are widely used by estate planning attorneys, with good reason. Trusts are a good way to pass wealth from one generation to the next, protecting assets from the effects of estate taxes, divorce, creditors and scam artists. But trusts are not the only way to transfer wealth. There are times when a simple outright […]