If you want to pass money to future generations without having it subject to gift and estate taxes, then a dynasty trust may be right for you. A dynasty trust allows trust assets to be used for the benefit of multiple generations while keeping the assets out of the grantor’s and the beneficiaries’ taxable estates.
If you need a lot of cash on hand upon retirement, Social Security offers a lump-sum payment option that’s worth six months of benefits. However, it comes at a cost. It is important to understand the details before agreeing to the payment. If you have waited beyond your full retirement age (66 for those born
Sam, Mary’s son and agent under her power of attorney, didn’t bother to seek legal advice after Mary entered a nursing home. “She only has $60,000. There’s nothing we can do”, he told his sisters. Five months later, with her funds exhausted, Mary sought Medicaid to pay for her care. To Sam’s shock and dismay
Getting socked with drastic stock market losses is bad enough. But Executors face the added problem of having to answer to disgruntled beneficiaries. The current market meltdown illustrates an important point many Executors fail to recognize. An Executor is the person named in a Last Will & Testament who is responsible for distributing a decedent’s
If your spouse dies, you may have to decide whether or when to sell your house. There are some tax considerations that go into that decision. The biggest concern when selling property is capital gains taxes. A capital gain is the difference between the "basis" in property and its selling price. The basis is the
An intentionally defective grantor trust (IDGT) is a common estate planning tool that is used by wealthy families to transfer assets from one generation to the next while achieving significant tax savings. IDGTs are especially useful if you have assets that will appreciate significantly over time. An IDGT is “intentionally defective” because it purposely
Did you know you could be responsible for your parents' unpaid bills? More than half of all States currently have laws making adult children financially responsible for their parents, including their long-term care costs. Among those States, Pennsylvania is perhaps the most notorious. In most States, these laws are rarely enforced. Not so in Pennsylvania.
Medicare and health insurance don’t pay for long-term nursing home care. Medicaid, does, but impoverishment is the price of admission to the Medicaid program. Proper planning enables one to qualify for Medicaid benefits while protecting substantial assets for spouse and family. In order to qualify, applicants must prove that they have limited income and assets.
As a trust beneficiary, you may feel that you are at the mercy of the trustee, but depending on the type of trust, beneficiaries may have rights to ensure the trust is properly managed. A trust is a legal arrangement through which one person, called a "settlor" or "grantor," gives assets to another person (or an
The maximum amount that can be contributed each year to an ABLE account for a person with disabilities rose $1,000 to $16,000 on January 1, 2022. The figure, which is tied to the inflation-adjusted value of the IRS’s gift tax annual exclusion, had been stuck at $15,000 since 2018. Pennsylvania and 45 other states offer ABLE
