family

Whichever way you pass on your retirement account assets, leaving an IRA can provide a grandchild with a significant financial foundation. Think of an IRA as a potentially powerful estate planning tool. Properly structured, an IRA may transfer wealth to younger generations. In fact, the younger, the better. Kiplinger raised this point in its January […]

Pad of Paper & Pen

South Dakota was a pioneer in “dynasty trusts,” which allow families to escape estate taxes forever. The state offers iron-clad secrecy for trusts and protection of assets from creditors and former spouses. When it comes to “dynasty trusts,” some states have more favorable trust laws than others. Believe it or not, sleepy South Dakota is […]

“Pet trusts aren’t just for the wealthy,” says Frances Carlisle, a trust and estates attorney in New York. For most pet owners, she adds, the goal “is to make sure a plan exists for the care of the animal.” Do you own a pet? It seems as though more and more people are taking in […]

Money laundering

You might be a candidate for a trust that you never needed before. A trust is a great tool within an estate plan, one with unique goals depending upon the one making the plan. Some goals are very common, while others don’t exactly follow the mainstream. A recent lighthearted Forbes article titled “Six Trusts For […]

Pad of Paper and Pen

Make sure that you understand what is in your trust. Other issues, particularly those related to tax issues, will require consulting with an estate planning professional. Do you have a trust? Trusts are powerful estate planning tools, those of which should be properly established and properly maintained. When it comes to revocable trusts, also known […]

piggy bank

People who take good care of their children take good care of their money, and people who take good care of their money take good care of their children. Money can bring about both the good and the bad, depending on how one uses it. So you can imagine how concerning it is for parents […]

Senior Couple

Here are the must-do estate-plan tasks you should get done now. What’s on your list of New Year’s resolutions? Yes, it’s that time of year yet again. In addition to the normal list of diet, exercise and the sort — did “estate planning” make the list for 2014? We all know that an estate plan […]

money tree

In the end, the goal is to convert what is otherwise a fleeting inheritance into a perpetual wealth management opportunity for the family. This goal can only be accomplished through proper, coordinated planning. Our goal of passing along wealth to the next generation is to ensure their wellbeing and happiness well after we are gone, […]

golden egg

When most people think about trust funds, they envision spoiled rich kids and wealthy families trying to dodge taxes on their piles of money. But what they might not realize is that trust funds can be an incredibly useful—even vital—tool for middle class families, as well. Although the public image of a “trust fund” seems […]

Businessman with Coat and Tie Holding House

Borrowing from a trust can be an alternative to taking a jumbo mortgage, defined as above $417,000 in most markets and $625,500 in some high-price areas such as New York and San Francisco. In some cases, a trust can buy the home outright. A mortgage tends to be a necessary evil to purchase a home. […]