How to Find a Cheap Estate Planning Attorney Finding a cheap estate planning attorney is easy – just start calling around until someone gives you a super low price without even learning about you, your family, or what you want. This episode isn’t so much about how to find a cheap estate planning attorney so much as it’s the potential downside of actually hiring a cheap estate planning attorney to help you out. The biggest thing to remember when it…
This week there is no story. No lesson. No article. No advice. Only thanks. Thank you for being a part of my life and my business, no matter how big or small. I appreciate you and wish you the happiest of holidays. If you have come into my life because you recently lost a loved one, then my continued condolences, and a reminder that the holidays are a great time not to mourn loss, but to celebrate the life of…
A Simple Way to Avoid Paying Estate Taxes If you live in Washington State your estate tax burden starts at $2.129 million dollars. That might sound like a lot, but when you factor in the price of real estate AND the fact that life insurance counts in that calculation, it doesn’t take much to reach that $2.129MM estate tax threshold. And, once you get there, the money adds up fast. On the first million over that mark you are paying…
The Goldilocks Method To Acting On Estate Tax Law Changes Earlier this week the House of Representatives unveiled proposed tax law changes that could have an effect on the federal estate tax if passed. It sounds as if they want to greatly increase the exemption amount (i.e. you get to keep more of your money before the tax kicks in) and eventually do away with the tax the whole way (otherwise known as “repeal”). Once that announcement was made people…
After giving you a bunch of sappy, punch you in the gut type of blogs lately, I decided it was probably about time for something a little more practical. But first (as always) a story. I’m working on a probate right now where the gentleman passed away rather suddenly. He was healthy, and then he was gone (yes, there’s a point in there about not waiting, but that’s for another day). When his family started trying to piece together his…
Why Naming Your Kids’ Guardian In Your Will Isn’t Enough When most parents think about guardians they think about long term guardians – who will watch their kids if they die. What most people fail to think about is a scenario that is probably more common than any – when an injury occurs and you don’t die but you have a significant recovery time. Imagine you are in a car accident. A bad one. And you aren’t killed but you…
“The estate tax is going to be repealed!” Those were the words I heard from several people today as I sat down for lunch with some friends. “We’re all going to be rich!” they said. Unfortunately, as always, I had to be the one to bring them back down to Earth… And, as often is the case, something that looks and sounds really good when you first hear it isn’t as good as you thought it was once you get…
