Blog

After you’ve rung in the New Year, it’s time to start getting down to business and thinking about tax season. While it’s not the merriest time of the year, tax season is a great time to review your finances and the changes that may impact how you file.

Creating an estate plan feels like something you check off a to-do list. Once the task is complete, you can move on and forget about it. However, that is not the mentality you should take when drafting your final wishes. An estate plan should reflect your current circumstances and should be periodically reviewed and amended as your life changes.

There is no "correct choice" when choosing the beneficiaries who will inherit from you. It’s a personal decision. What must be handled “properly” however is the process of naming beneficiaries so that your loved ones can inherit what you desire for them. Let’s look at beneficiary designations in a bit more detail.

Federal estate tax law includes a provision called portability. This provision only applies to married couples. It allows the surviving spouse to use any part of their deceased spouse’s unused estate and gift tax exemption.

Planning a wedding isn’t the only part of your future you and your partner should focus on as a couple. Seniors must ensure that they create an estate plan that protects their interests and their spouse’s future.

Trusts are complex legal documents and people naturally have questions about how they should and should not be used as part of a comprehensive estate plan.

In general, middle-income seniors have income and assets that make them less likely to qualify for Medicaid. At the same time, they may not have adequate resources to pay for the rising costs of housing and care options they need.