Let’s Start Planning Your Future Today
Whether you need to create a simple Will, protect your assets, or plan for your business, our team is here to help.
Schedule Your Free Consulation25
Mar
Strauss Attorneys, PLLC – Year End Tax Letter
By Lorin G. Page, J. D. , L. L. M. As we approach the end of 2017, we at Strauss Attorneys, PLLC would like to remind you of measures you can take to minimize your income tax liability. By taking proactive steps to secure credits and deductions, or accelerating or postponing income o...
View MoreCategory: Advisors
06
Mar
The Tax Benefits of Educational Trusts
Use of standalone Educational Trusts – those created specifically for the educational (and sometimes medical) expenses of children and grandchildren – is far less common since the ready availability of 529 Plans. 529 Plans have contribution limitations (varying by state) that are...
View MoreCategories: Estate Planning Taxation Trusts
06
Mar
Non-Citizen Spouses and Qualifying Domestic Trusts
In our increasingly globalized world, many American citizens have non-citizen spouses. This can present a serious problem when such couples consider estate planning. Normally, Internal Revenue Code Section 2056(d) denies the marital deduction to non-citizen spouses of a deceased...
View MoreCategory: Trusts
06
Mar
Estate Planning in the Face of Divorce
No doubt the commencement of a divorce is unsettling, chaotic, and emotionally draining. But that said, divorces happen in stages. Separation precedes the divorce, and there is often even a period before separation where the inevitable becomes apparent and you’ve made a decision...
View MoreCategory: Estate Planning
06
Mar
Will Caveats vs. Full Scale Lawsuits
In the recent case of Finks v. Middleton (N. C. App. 2016), we saw the court wrestle with an issue that has become all too common. This case arose from a bitter sibling dispute between a brother and sister. Mother had executed a will in 2009 passing her assets equally to three chi...
View MoreCategory: Estate Planning
06
Mar
Keeping Beneficiaries “Happy” Leads to Punitive Damage Award
In April 2017, I was made aware of a case arising out of Mississippi where a corporate trustee was the trustee of a trust left for the benefit of a widow. The case discussed at length how far the trustee went to conceal from the trust beneficiary the fact that the trust corpus wa...
View MoreCategories: Estate Planning Trust Administration Trusts
06
Mar
2017 Brings Big Changes for Captive Insurance Owners: The PATH Act Diversification Tests for Section 831(b) Captive Insurance Companies
In 2015, Congress passed the PATH Act, enacting substantial changes to the law governing captive insurance companies, Internal Revenue Code Section 831(b). This article briefly discusses how those changes affect the use of captives in combination with certain estate planning te...
View More06
Mar
No Wills, Old Wills, Trust Mills and other Estate Planning Ills
In estate planning consultations, I often tell clients that for most people, having no estate plan is better than having a badly drafted or very old one. North Carolina probate law contains default provisions for those who die “intestate,” or without a will (or trust). Those defa...
View MoreCategories: Estate Planning Trusts
06
Mar
Helping Aging Families Qualify For State Assistance Without Going Broke: A Financial Rock And A Hard Place
As the baby boom generation ages at the same time that health care costs are rising, many middle class elderly individuals and their families face the prospect of paying enormous health care costs. Chief among these is the cost of skilled nursing facilities, which range from $5,0...
View MoreCategories: Elder Law Estate Planning Legal Advice Medicaid
06
Mar
How a Testamentary Special Needs Trust Made a World of Difference for a Middle Class Family How a Testamentary Special Needs Trust Made a World of Difference for a Middle Class Family, Medicaid Benefits
The specter of Long Term Care costs haunts many otherwise happy, seemingly, financially secure, middle class families. It's scary to contemplate the possibility that a medical event or end-of-life illness could undo literally decades of mindful saving. What can these famili...
View MoreCategories: Elder Law Estate Planning Legal Advice Medicaid Trusts Vets
