Last week I wrote about beneficiary designations, and today I will finish writing on that topic and talk about different ways these designations may be set. In the case of many contracts, as well as a will or trust, you can pre-determine how assets might be divided if one or…
When it comes to estate planning, one item that can often be forgotten or overlooked but can also be easily remedied is updating your beneficiary designations. Taking an hour of your time now to look these over can ensure you have a say in what happens to these funds when…
The beginning of any new year is a good time to reflect, look forward, and plan for the future – especially this year with a pandemic that has made self-reflection that much more important. So many things have changed, including things we took for granted or overlooked before now. We…
There is no one-size-fits-all tax planning strategy, especially this year with so many new factors and uncertainties. The current pandemic has had a great impact on all of us as it has brought mortality to the forefront of our minds and prompted a lot of people to review estate planning…
Everything can go more smoothly when tailored to fit an individual’s needs. This is especially true of estate planning, as Carol Ann Fey, of counsel at Artz, Dewhirst & Wheeler in Columbus, and Mary Eileen Vitale, principal at HW & Co. CPAs & Advisors in Beachwood, explain: “The reason (to…
It’s nearly always imperative to take a multi-faceted approach to estate planning as it involves the health and finances of multiple people. Ensuring that family and loved ones are taken care of in the way that benefits them most requires proper planning. One estate planning tool that is especially helpful…
Estate planning can be extremely confusing for a lot of people. In last week’s blog post, I addressed 5 common estate planning myths that often cost individuals and their loved ones time and money and add extra stress to their lives. Here are 5 more common estate planning myths: If…
If you find estate planning confusing, you’re not alone. Estate planning is one of the areas of financial planning with the most widespread confusion, and this can lead to costly mistakes and unnecessary loss of time and money as well as excess stress for people’s loved ones. Here are some…
With the current 2020 federal estate tax exemption amount being $11.58 million, a lot less people are needing to plan around this tax while mapping out their estate plan, and more planning can be focused on saving income taxes for family and heirs. Saving income and transfer taxes has always…
These days, our lives are surrounded by a lot of uncertainty and more people are thinking about their own mortality. Many people are choosing to review and update their estate plans during this challenging time. One thing that can easily trip up an estate plan is not paying attention to…