Recently Amazon’s Alexa, a voice assisted device, that plays music, answers questions and allows for online ordering filed a patent for its latest trick – recommending cold and flu medication if it overhears you coughing.
If a grandparent leaves a traditional IRA to a grandchild, the grandchild must begin taking required minimum distributions within a year after the grandparent dies.
High net worth couples looking to benefit a charity while reducing estate taxes and gifting to heirs with substantial valuation discounts may want to consider using a Charitable Leads Trust.
While some may choose to purchase an estate planning kit from an online retailer for a small fee, others know that getting valuable information based on their specific factors can make a huge difference.
Many of America’s veterans struggled to find timely and adequate medical care in their communities and the rise of this problem led lawmakers to pass the MISSION Act. The MISSION Act requires the VA to establish higher quality care as well as better access to care.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that each state must recognize same sex marriages as valid, therefore, as it stands under current law, same sex and opposite sex married couples are afforded the same tax benefits on both the federal and state level, so there is no longer a need to draft estate planning documents differently for same sex couples.
The Special Needs Trust Fairness Act allows people with disabilities who have capacity to act on their own behalf the opportunity to create their own special needs trusts. Formerly, these types of trusts could only be established by parents, grandparents or legal guardians of those with special needs.
Many people postpone estate planning under our recent estate tax laws because the high exemptions mean that only the very wealthy actually pay estate taxes. Current exemptions are approximately $11.2 million per person. So, for a couple, the exemption will be $22.4 million until 2026. Keep in mind that true, comprehensive estate planning is about much more than taxes so do not be lulled into complacency over these large exemptions.
