Just as we create estate plans for our eventual demise, we also need to plan ahead for the possibility that we will become sick and unable to make our own medical decisions. Medical science has created many miracles, among them the technology to keep patients alive longer, sometimes indefinitely. As…
Learning what not to do can be just as instructive as learning what to do. That is the premises of The 101 Biggest Estate Planning Mistakes. Author Herbert Nass, an estate planning attorney for 25 years who has represented several celebrities, uses examples from celebrity estate plans as well as…
Once someone enters a nursing home it is not always easy to leave. While some residents may prefer nursing home care to living on their own, others would rather be independent. Residents who have been in a nursing home for a long time may have to start all over again when…
There are many Estate Planning issues to consider if you are thinking about purchasing a vacation home or now own a vacation home and are contemplating passing it on to your children. One of the most important is how title to the home is held. You can hold title in…
The recent changes to Social Security brought about by the 2015 Federal Budget Bill have removed two little understood, yet very powerful, benefit maximizing strategies that have been available to Social Security claimants since 2000. To better understand this recent change it is important to understand how Social Security benefit…
When choosing a beneficiary for a retirement plan, it is important to understand how your spouse will be treated under the plan. Surviving spouses are treated differently under 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). While a 401(k) provides protections for a surviving spouse, an IRA does not. Because the 401(k)…
Your 401(k) may not be the best place to put your money. In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Anne Tergesen points out that Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) come with more tax advantages than 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) when used to cover medical costs, a large…
If you die without a Will or Trust, your assets will be divided up based on the intestacy laws of the state where you live at the time of your death and the intestacy laws of any other state where you own assets. Many times the intestacy laws will give…
Gifting assets to your grandchildren can reduce the size of your estate and the tax that will be due upon your death. You may give each grandchild up to $14,000 a year without having to report the gift. If you are married, both you and your spouse can make such…
In Illinois, estates can be administered under an Independent Administration or a Supervised Administration. Unless an interested party requests a supervised administration, an estate is opened as an independent administration. Unlike a supervised administration, an independent administration does not require filing an inventory and accounting with the Court for the Judge to review.…