A grantor or trustmaker is the person who funds a trust, so how can you have a trust without a grantor? It is confusing, but the terms grantor trust and nongrantor trust refer to the trust’s income tax, not the existence or lack thereof of a trustmaker. The Difference Between a Grantor Trust and a […]
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Taxes are a fact of life, but some tax schemes are better known than others. For example, everyone who earns a paycheck knows about the federal income tax deductions from their pay each pay period. Lesser known taxes include capital gains, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. The generation-skipping transfer tax (GST) is a federal tax […]
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Family limited partnerships (FLPs) are an estate planning tool that reduces estate, gift, and income tax liabilities by allowing families to transfer a significant amount of their wealth to the next generation. Unfortunately, this popular and effective estate planning tool is being challenged by the current administration in Washington, D.C. Understanding Family Limited Partnerships An […]
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A new job is an exciting step in anyone’s life, whether it’s a first after school and summer job at the local water park or a move to become the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Proper financial and estate planning are important in any stage of life and can help protect the future you’re […]
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Meet the Smith family. Mark is the co-owner of a small business with his wife, Margo. The couple has two adult children, Jessica and Larry. Mark also has a sister, Jan, whom he has been financially supporting for several decades. Mark and Margo each have their own retirement accounts. They have contributed to them since […]
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Jocelyn and Mike Brown own two hundred acres of land overlooking a beautiful ski town with a mountain range in the background. Jocelyn and Mike have five children and 18 grandchildren. None of the children or grandchildren have the financial resources to buy the land outright so that the equity can be evenly divided amongst […]
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Does looking back at 2020 bring on a feeling of panic? What happened? An unforeseen viral pandemic spread globally and brought financial destruction in its wake. Economists estimate that the pandemic’s total cost was more than $16 trillion in the U.S. alone. Each family of four had an estimated financial loss of $200,000.1 That, or […]
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Funding a College Education: Don’t Be Overwhelmed by the Options New parents focus on milestones such as first steps and first words, not funding a college education. Investing in your child’s college education early in life can pay off in the long run. Each plan has a different menu of benefits and restrictions. It is […]
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Many people are passionate about their collections, both the financially valuable (art or stamps) and the sentimentally valuable (mementos and postcards). If you have a collection—no matter its monetary value—you’ll want to include your treasures in your estate plan. Make arrangements in advance to ensure that the collection is handled in the way you want, […]
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The federal gift and estate tax exclusion is currently very high; in 2020, the amount equals $11.58 million for an individual and $23.16 million for a married couple. At this level, only very wealthy people need to be concerned about taxes at the federal level. This may change in 2026 when the increased exclusion amount […]
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