For decades, states have granted courts the power to appoint guardians or conservators for elderly or disabled people unable to tend to their basic needs. Most appointed guardians are family members, but judges can turn to a growing industry of professional, unrelated guardians. Often the guardians are granted broad authority over a ward’s finances, medical […]
Read More »Avoid These Common Estate Planning Mistakes
The most common estate planning mistake may surprise you. “The mistake actually isn’t part of the will and trust,” said Dan Prebish, head of life services events at Wells Fargo Advisors, based in St. Louis. “It actually has to do with beneficiary designation.” Prebish said people sometimes fail to designate who will gain control of […]
Read More »Motivate Heirs’ Behavior with Trust Clause
One of the most difficult issues in estate planning is what to do about heirs who may need something like a parent’s guiding hand long after they become adults. A child or grandchild may have a mental illness, a problem with substance abuse, or chronic trouble holding a job. Helping such a person by giving […]
Read More »It’s That Time of Year!
This is the time of year when certain money issues come more into focus, including those related to income-tax planning, charity scams and checking up on the financial health of family members. Tax planning isn’t shaping up as anything remarkable over the waning weeks of 2015. Congress hasn’t passed any blockbuster legislation affecting individuals this […]
Read More »Irrevocable Trusts May be the Answer to Tough Estate Planning Issues
The death of a loved one can create a lot of financial complexity. For families that have set up irrevocable trusts to facilitate the transfer of assets from one generation to another, the tax implications can be even more complicated. However, there are some basic rules that any heir should know if they get an […]
Read More »Charitable Giving Puts Public Library Back on the Map
The Stanley and Elaine Ball Charitable Foundation granted the Taneyhills Library $350,000 to renovate the children’s area and to create a technology conference room. Taneyhills Library Board Chairman Kenton Olson said the children’s library is what needed to be refurbished the most.
Read More »California Court Upholds Trust that Gives Millions to Lady’s Gardener
A Sonoma County bank overseeing the trust of a wealthy Kentfield divorcee who left a large chunk of her $8.5 million estate to her gardener and other non-family members will be allowed to dip into the fund to defend challenges from the woman’s daughter. That’s the published opinion of the state Court of Appeals in a […]
Read More »The High Cost of Dementia
Three diseases, leading killers of Americans, often involve long periods of decline before death. Two of them — heart disease and cancer — usually require expensive drugs, surgeries and hospitalizations. The third, dementia, has no effective treatments to slow its course.
Read More »Easy to Explain Estate Taxes? Not Exactly
Seems like the subject of estate taxes becomes part of every politician’s election promises, and today’s election environment is no different. Even though we are not really expecting significant changes in that area, estate taxes have changed dramatically, and some folks may still be uncertain about how those changes relate to them.
Read More »Don’t Let a Perfect Storm Ruin Your Plans for the Family Farm
In February of 1959, rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson were killed when a plane Holly chartered at the last minute crashed near Clear Lake, Iowa. The event later became known as “the day the music died.” Richardson had the flu and talked Waylon Jennings into giving […]
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