Estate Law News

With the fate of the estate tax exemption uncertain, you may want to use the current large exemption to transfer assets to a trust to benefit your spouse. A spousal lifetime access trust (SLAT) can help transfer assets outside of your estate. 

Being able to make health care decisions for ourselves is so important to us, but what happens if you become incapacitated and are unable to voice your opinion? If you don’t have a health care proxy or guardian in place, state law chooses who can make those decisions.

Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) are an important tool for small business owners, but they can also be useful in estate planning. An LLC can help you pass assets to your children while avoiding gift and estate taxes. 

If you have close relatives who are citizens of another country, you might receive a gift or inheritance from them at some point. While you usually do not have to pay taxes to the IRS for this, you may need to report it. 

It’s an unfortunate reality that with the increasing number of natural disasters across the country, including fires, floods, and hurricanes, the chance that you could lose your house and possessions has become more likely. In the event you lose everything, it is important that your estate planning and other important documents are beyond reach and easily retrievable. 

When interest rates are low, intrafamily loans can be a good way to assist children with purchasing a house or a family business, and in certain circumstances they can be used to gift money to the next generation.

A number of tax proposals being considered in Congress that could significantly affect gifting and estate plans. There are planning strategies to help protect your estate from future tax changes, so now is a good time to look at your estate plan and see if you need to make adjustments. 

Summer is winding down and if you are one of the lucky ones, you got to spend some time at a family vacation home. How do you make sure your children and grandchildren can enjoy that second home as much as you did?

Marriage is supposed to be “until death do us part,” but after one spouse dies, is it possible to have the marriage annulled? It can be done, as a Nebraska widower recently learned, but only in certain circumstances. 

Most people want to pass their assets to their children or grandchildren, but naming a minor as a beneficiary can have unintended consequences. It is important to make a plan that doesn’t involve leaving assets directly to a minor.