By: Christopher Small | September 26, 2017 | Estate Planning
Medicaid trusts are a scam, plain and simple. Ask any estate planning attorney worth their salt and they will tell you these truths about medicaid trusts: 1. There is a look back period of 5 years. Until that 5 years is up, your assets are not safe. 2. You will have to give up COMPLETE control over your assets. If there is an emergency and you need your assets you will not be able to access them. 3. You will…
By: Christopher Small | September 19, 2017 | Estate Planning
If you are here to learn about probate and nonintervention powers, then you’ve likely recently lost a loved one. I want to first say I’m sorry for your loss. Now, though, it’s time to get down to business so you can focus on remembering the life and times of your loved one and get through this process we know as “probate.” If you’ve done any research or talked to a probate attorney they’ve probably mentioned nonintervention powers before. I wanted…
By: Christopher Small | September 12, 2017 | Estate Planning
A lot of people come into my office for estate planning and they are worried about someone contesting the will and messing everything up. They are worried about someone thinking their will is unfair and trying to get more. They are worried about someone thinking they weren’t making the right choice at the time and they want to right a wrong. And they are worried about someone believing circumstances had changed since the will was executed and wanting to “update”…
For many people their IRA is the biggest asset that will be given to their family when they die. What most people don’t know is that for many families, inheriting an IRA is the worst thing that can happen to them. Today I wanted to talk about why that is, the options that exist for an inherited IRA, and some ways to ensure that your hard earned money isn’t wasted via taxes or frivolous spending. Why Inheriting an IRA is…
There are people who are afraid to talk to their kids about their money and their assets. It may be because they’re afraid because they’re afraid of where they are at or where they are going or they are afraid that their kids will take advantage of them. Traditionally in the United States, talking about money is something that you keep private. There are a few reasons why talking to your kids about money is important. The first reason is…
Estate tax avoidance number 2: How to save $259,350 on your estate taxes with a little estate planning solution. There is a couple of things that need to be in place for this to work. Number one: you should live in Washington State because this is where estate tax comes into play. Number two: you need to be married. Number three: you’ve got to have a network of nearly 4 million dollars, although, if you get over two this will…
In Washington State, there are two taxes that you are potentially facing. There’s a Washington State tax and the federal state tax. The Washington State tax starts at 2.129 million dollars and that includes the value of your home, the value of your bank accounts, the value of your investments and life insurance. So for a lot of people in the State of Washington, that’s relatively a small number particularly when you take account life insurance. At the federal level,…
