Do I need a will or a trust? That’s the most basic question to begin creating an estate plan. And, let’s face it, you really do want a say in who gets what after your gone. That’s just human nature. Without some kind of legal instructions, you can’t guarantee...
Alhambra's Bob Williams looks at whether you should use a Will or Trust for your estate planning document.
Death tax, inheritance tax, estate tax—call it what you will, they all mean that some government entity wants to put its hand in your pocket or your heirs’ pockets, after your demise.
On the federal level, the estate tax issue is not as big a deal as it was back...
PROBATE—a word that strikes terror in the hearts of people planning the distribution of their estates. They worry that the probate process can drag on for months or years, that probate costs will eat up a chunk of what they want to leave their heirs, or that people will...
Oh, my! I cringe every time I hear that someone has added their kids’ names to the deed of their house as an estate planning technique. It’s done for the right reasons, but it often backfires.
Sometimes, elderly people will add kids to the deed, thinking they’re removing the house...
The times they are a-changin’. It was true when Bob Dylan wrote those words more than 55 years ago, and it’s just as true today. The black-and-white analog world becomes a distant memory as we travel further into the digital portal. And just like Ozzy Osbourne, many of us...
Someone close to you dies and you are now the executor of the estate. You’ve never been in this position before and if you’re like many of my clients who have been faced with settling an estate, you’re a little panicked by the whole prospect—you’re staring into the great...
There’s an old axiom that says, “All good things must come to an end.” And unless Congress makes some changes, that’s what will happen to the current level of the federal estate tax exemption. As it stands now, every individual can give away $11.7 million of their estate free...