estate planning

Election Update: Planning under the Biden Administration

Posted by Robert L. Arone After several days of counting ballots, Joe Biden has been declared the winner of the 2020 Presidential election by many major news outlets. Although we await the official certification of the election by each state, an official concession by President Trump, and the outcome of several pending lawsuits–which could take us into December or even January–the 2020 election and its aftermath promise significant changes in how our clients will be taxed. While it is unlikely that every proposal discussed during President-Elect Biden’s campaign will become the law of the land, we can still glean essential details from all the campaign rhetoric to help us prepare to weather these possible changes. Proposed Policy Adjustments under a Biden Presidency Here is what we know so far about some of President-Elect Biden’s key proposals that are most relevant to our clients’ estate planning: Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Transfer

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Helping Couples Plan for Their Future

Posted by Robert L. Arone October is one of the most popular months for couples to tie the knot in the United States. While wedding planning most often includes tuxedos, dresses, rehearsal dinners, guest lists, and the honeymoon, an overlooked part of pending nuptials is estate planning. For younger couples beginning a life together and getting married for the first time, estate planning may not be a terribly complicated endeavor. With minimal property and savings, simple wills, financial powers of attorney, and healthcare directives may be sufficient and prudent planning for the first years of marriage. The age at which couples are getting married for the first time continues to creep upward, however. It is therefore common for individuals to accumulate significant amounts of property, savings, and investments during their single years. When couples with property beyond the most simple items marry, estate planning becomes much more urgent. It is

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Protect Your Clients from Lawsuits with a Domestic Asset Protection Trust

Posted by Robert L. Arone Conversations with family, friends, and colleagues can sometimes wander into the topic of lawsuits, divorces, bankruptcies, and other threats that put one’s property at risk of loss to a creditor. Such conversations often leave people shaking their heads, asking what the world is coming to, and feeling vulnerable and frustrated. However, an important tool has become increasingly available to even those of modest means to protect their property from such threats at a reasonable cost and with relatively few hoops to jump through. The Domestic Asset Protection Trust A domestic asset protection trust (DAPT) is a legal structure into which a client (as the grantor or trustmaker) can transfer accounts and property such as a home, cash, stocks or other investments. Once transferred into the DAPT, the property is legally protected from future lawsuits, divorcing spouses, bankruptcies, and similar threats. Although the client has transferred

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5 Key Questions to Answer When Creating Your Will

By Eric P. Rothenberg, Esq. If you don’t want important decisions to be left up to the state when you’re gone, you need a will. If the idea of creating a will feels like you’re tempting fate, think of it as a road map you’re leaving your family, so they don’t have to stress over making the right decisions on your behalf. First, you need to understand the differences between a living will and a last will and testament, usually referred to as a will. These are two different documents that serve different purposes. A living will allows you to state your wishes in the event you cannot communicate and is only effective if you are alive. This is a legal document which outlines which life support services you approve or disapprove of in certain situations and removes the difficulty of such decisions from your children or other heirs. It

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Helping Clients Create Positivity with Their Estate Plan

Posted by Robert L. Arone Many scientific studies have established that there is a wide range of benefits flowing from a positive attitude and positive thinking. At a time when many are focused on worst-case scenarios and gloomy predictions, help your clients resist the pull of negativity and embrace the beneficial results of positivity. This is not just an attempt to make them (or ourselves) feel better in spite of reality, but rather to take full advantage of the proven benefits of optimism. We can develop stronger relationships with our clients by helping them to incorporate positivity into their estate planning: They can increase not only their own wellbeing but also that of their children or other beneficiaries by creating an estate plan designed to promote their loved ones’ happiness, which in turn, will enable them to live healthier and more successful lives. Fortunately for those to whom it does

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