Coordinating your Last Will and Testament (or Revocable Trust) with your beneficiary designations is an important aspect of estate planning. If you have an IRA, 401k, 403b, or other retirement account, chances are that you’ve completed a standard beneficiary form. Simply put, it designates who should receive the account upon your death. Most of these […]
Coordinating your Last Will and Testament (or Revocable Trust) with your account ownership titling and your beneficiary designations is an important aspect of estate planning. A joint account or beneficiary designation typically overrides the terms prescribed under your Will, so it’s crucial to ensure they are consistent with your overall estate plan. For example, if
The Intersection of Your Will/Trust, Joint Accounts, and Beneficiary Designations Read More »
A Primer on Fiduciary Income Tax. This is one of the most common questions we receive and particularly so as we approach the heart of tax season. The answer is the classic lawyer response, “it depends.” After someone passes away, property is inherited in different ways and how the property is transferred (the ownership chain)
by Matt Schwartz On January 13, 2013, my father-in-law passed away. He had been battling poor health for several years but it was still hard for all of us (particularly Beth) and he was the first grandparent that Rebecca and Anna lost. When we went out to California to attend the funeral and sit shiva
If you are 70 ½ or older, you are able to donate a portion or all of your RMD directly to charity (up to $100,000 annual maximum). This is a great way to utilize your RMD if you regularly give to charity but otherwise no longer itemize your income tax deductions. Other tax favorable means
Year End Planning Points and Considerations for 2023 and Beyond Read More »
How It Affects You and Your Retirement Account Beneficiaries On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement 2.0 Act (SECURE 2.0 Act). The previous SECURE Act in 2020 made several changes to retirement planning: Eligible Designated Beneficiaries Exempt from the 10-Year Rule The SECURE Act provided a few
At the end of 2019, Congress passed the SECURE Act eliminating the stretch IRA. Absent being a spousal beneficiary, a disabled beneficiary, a chronically ill beneficiary, a beneficiary less than ten years younger than the IRA owner, or a minor child beneficiary under the age of 21, an inherited IRA must be distributed to a
529 plans are a popular and effective way to save for education-related expenses, but historically, one potential drawback of grandparent 529 plans has been that they can affect financial aid eligibility for the beneficiary. However, thanks to upcoming changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), distributions from a grandparent’s 529 plan will no longer
On February 23, 2022, the IRS nonchalantly released 275 pages of Proposed Regulations which shocked the retirement and estate planning professional community. Since the passage of the SECURE Act at the end of 2019, many planners have been reeling over the ten-year payout requirement for inherited retirement accounts created by the Act, subject to limited
Proposed Regulations to SECURE Act Make Roth IRA Conversions Even More Valuable Read More »
Two months ago if you’d told me that in a matter of weeks I’d be walking two miles each way to an ATM to deposit a check or walking a mile and a half round trip to the nearest post office box to put a letter in the mail, I would have questioned your sanity
