06

Mar

Are You Single with a Minor Child? If So, You Need a Plan

You have a minor child who depends on you for their survival, so you need to make sure that they will be cared for if you are ever unable to care for them. By creating an estate plan, you can address your minor child’s care and custody and provide instructions about how your mone...

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Category: Estate Planning


06

Mar

Secure Act 2.0—Boon to Charitable Gifting?

Congress recently passed the Secure 2. 0 Act of 2022 (the “Act”); it became law on December 22, 2022. The Act is designed to encourage retirement saving and really has very little practical effect on estate planning in general, but it does contain some advantages to those who are...

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06

Mar

Important Things to Do As You Begin 2023

January is National Mentoring Month: Three Creative Ways to Use the Estate Planning Process to Be a Mentor From Iron Man and Spiderman to the relationship between Hopper and Elle in Stranger Things, the value and importance of mentor relationships is everywhere we look. And this...

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Categories: Estate Planning Trusts


06

Mar

2022 Year End Letter from Strauss Attorneys

We are coming to the end of another year! It has been, yet again, a roller-coaster of a ride. This year marked the apparent end of Covid, as well as The Godfather’s fiftieth anniversary. And, of course, we all are feeling the pinch of rising inflation rates. For estate planners...

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06

Mar

Decanting: A Powerful Tool for Disgruntled Trust Beneficiaries

“I’m the beneficiary of several trusts and I would love to be able to combine them into a single trust. ” “The trustee of my trust and I are not getting along. We’d like to go our separate ways, but the trust doesn’t provide enough flexibility in appointing a new trustee. ” “The i...

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Category: Trusts


06

Mar

Basics of Social Security Retirement Benefits

Social Security provides a foundation for long-term financial support for almost every American. Most of us will depend on Social Security to live on during our later years. These years cost money, and if we are not working during our later years, then we can count on Social Secu...

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Category: Estate Planning


06

Mar

New IRS “Clawback” Regulations Have Limited Applicability to Gift Transactions

The Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) doubled the exemption amount available during lifetime or at death from $5 million to $10 million, inflation adjusted, until January 1, 2026. The 2022 exemption amount is $12. 06 million and will decline under current law, subject to further...

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06

Mar

When Forgetfulness is a Problem

Head, shoulders, knees, and toes. We learned those body parts as youngsters as we sang along to the song. As we age, we often find that our head, shoulders, knees, and toes don't quite work like they used to. While these physical ailments can be a sobering reminder that we...

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06

Mar

New Federal Transfer Tax Rules for 2022

The Internal Revenue Service has announced the annual inflation adjustments for the 2022 tax year: 2022 Gift and Estate Tax Exclusion $12,060,000 GST Tax Exemption $12,060,000 Gift Tax Annual Exclusion $16,000 Annual Exclusion for Gifts to Noncitizen Spouse $164,000 Federal appli...

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Category: Taxation


06

Mar

Revised Limited Liability Company Act

When dealing with the death of a loved one, the amount of information to be processed and documents to be sorted through might seem overwhelming. Faced with unfamiliar concepts, terminology, and deadlines along with one’s own grief, the trust and probate administration process ca...

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