17

Sep

What Happens to My Leased Car If I Die Before the Lease Term Ends?

After a house, a car is often the second-most valuable piece of property a person owns. About 15–20 percent of new vehicles are leased rather than purchased and financed. Leasing is a popular alternative to traditional financing because it can allow the lessee (the person who l...

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17

Sep

Managing Accounts and Services After a Loved One’s Passing

Losing a loved one is never easy, and along with the emotional strain, there are practical tasks to address, like handling their accounts and services. This guide will help you understand what to do with various accounts and subscriptions. Identifying the Accounts First, you nee...

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17

Sep

Should the Trustee of My Trust Be Different during My Incapacity Than at My Death?

When you create a trust, choosing a trustee is one of the most important decisions you will make. If you create a revocable living trust—that is, a trust that you establish during your lifetime and can revoke or amend—you may opt to act as trustee for your trust, retaining the f...

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17

Sep

Surviving Spouses Need To Be Aware Of Potential Changes To The Estate Tax

Clients who have lost their spouse within the past two years may want to speak to us if his or her estate is close to $6 million. Why? Because there are pending tax proposals before Congress that would reduce the current $11. 7 million exemption down to approximately $6 million on...

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17

Sep

Preparing for Falling Federal Estate Tax Exemptions

At the end of the year, please watch this space for our 2021 outlook letter, which will report on adjustments and changes in federal estate tax exemptions, among other estate and tax planning strategies. However, as a lead up to that, we would be remiss in not addressing and prep...

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17

Sep

For Deceased Individuals, the IRS Wants its Stimulus Payments Back

I was meeting with a client recently who wanted her Will and other documents signed. Her father had passed away a few months ago and during the signing, she told me that she had just received a check from the IRS for $1200 made payable to her father. She asked me what she should...

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17

Sep

Inherited IRAs Face a Paradigm Shift in 2020 and Beyond.

The new SECURE Act changes estate planning regarding inherited retirement accounts starting in 2020. SECURE is in an acronym that stands for “Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement. ” The new SECURE act was signed into law on December 20, 2019, and is now in effect...

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17

Sep

What does it mean when the assets of someone who has died goes through probate?

Below is a simplified version of the first 90 days of the probate process…. In North Carolina, the Clerk of Superior Court (the “Clerk of Court”) is the basically the Probate Judge and is responsible for overseeing most all estate matters. Appointment: If a resident of North Caro...

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17

Sep

When you want to say “No Thank You”

What is a disclaimer? A “disclaimer” is a legal no thank you. It is an irrevocable and unqualified refusal to accept an interest in property. The effect of a disclaimer is as if no transfer was made to or from the person making the disclaimer. Most states have statutes that allo...

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17

Sep

Estate Planning Document Organizer

Make preparations now to keep family and loved ones secure when you are no longer here! Have you ever seen estate planning documents that are in fancy docket covers, folded up and placed in a bank safety deposit box for safekeeping? We see them all the time. We often joke that th...

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17

Sep

An Overview of Trusts and What it Means to be a Trustee

What is a trust and what are the powers, duties, and potential liabilities for serving as a trustee of a trust? A trust is a fiduciary relationship with respect to property in which one person (the trustee) holds the legal title to trust property for the benefit of another person...

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17

Sep

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...

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