WealthCounsel is the premier estate planning organization in the United States. Quite simply, no other organization even comes close to the level of experience that WealthCounsel offers its over 1,000 estate planning attorneys. Asking whether or not your estate planning attorney is affiliated with WealthCounsel is crucial, because only WealthCounsel members have all of...
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Why do we engage in estate planning? Most people would say their priorities in estate planning are protecting their assets and ensuring those assets get passed on properly.
However, we often miss the equally important goal of estate planning: passing on your values, hopes, fears, lessons learned, etc. to the next generation(s).
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A lot of people ask our office what the difference is between Wills and Trusts. There are several key advantages to trusts, depending on your estate planning needs. One advantage to our readers who value privacy is that a well-crafted Revocable Living Trust, if properly written AND funded, can avoid the probate process. By...
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The IRS recently announced that the annual gift tax exclusion will stay the same in 2010 at $13,000.??If you're married, each spouse gets an exclusion so a married couple can gift $26000 to each individual without creating a tax liability or necessity for reporting.
With proper gift planning, a family could...
This is a question that I get asked often. If you do not have a will or living trust, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has developed a scheme of how your assets will be distributed upon your passing. This is called dying "intestate" and the law is the Pennsylvania Intestacy statute. For instance, if you...
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Welcome to 2010 and a happy and healthy new year to everyone. We can all use a fresh start from time to time, and the new year is ripe for new, innovative ideas and resolutions to grow and improve. Furthermore, as we enter the next decade, we are reminded (most of us anyway) how...
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We just recently passed the 10th anniversary of the iPhone – a device a good many of us have become reliant on in our day-to-day lives ever since Steve Jobs introduced it back in 2007. I know I love mine! In the years since the phone’s introduction, we’ve seen must-have accessories introduced (wireless headphones! iWatches!!), and...
Continue reading…Did you know that approximately 70% of adults in the United States have no estate plan? No will, living trust, powers of attorney or living wills? If you are one of the 70% without a plan, talk to us today. It's never too late or too early to start estate planning. It's the greatest...
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Just posted a new article to help those new to estate planning. Catch Ten Steps To Estate Planning under our Resources tab. If we can help you with your estate plan, please let us know by getting in touch with our office.
Came across this article on USNews that concisely talks about how to avoid some common estate planning mistakes. Some ways to avoid the mistakes include finding the right estate planning attorney, picking the right executor and trustees, and make sure your title to your assets is clear. Check out the rest of the article
