My original article for this week was to update readers on the DoL Fiduciary Rule that was set to be implemented in April of this year. However, with the daily changes occurring regarding this hot topic, I felt that anything ...

Tagged with: estate planning estate taxes John N. Hamling Money Management

President-elect Donald Trump has proposed wide-ranging changes to the nation’s tax system, which will affect virtually all Americans and their advisors. Estate planners in particular face a dramatic potential impact on their practices. Potential for federal estate tax repeal Trump ...

Tagged with: Donald Trump estate planning estate taxes gifts Keeping Your Balance

The presents are opened and the champagne has been uncorked. We think we are ready for all the fresh starts and resolutions that the New Year brings. Then the mailman brings you a bunch of love letters from a guy ...

Tagged with: 401(k) debt estate planning finances Money Management resolution Victoria A. Hemiup

The 2010 tax act, affectionately known as the “Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010,” made significant changes to the federal estate tax, including the increase of the estate tax exemption to $5 million per person, ...

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Estate Planning for Retirement Accounts Questions: 1. Designating a trust created for a surviving spouse as the sole beneficiary of an IRA is no different than designating the spouse as the direct beneficiary because the minimum required distribution (MRD) in ...

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In these difficult times, with investment returns at historically low levels, many of our clients are searching for safer investments with higher yields. There are several avenues to explore for those who have charitable intentions. A Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust, ...

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Back in “the old days” i.e. 1997 The federal estate tax exemption was $600,000 per person and the highest estate tax rate was 55 percent of the taxable estate. Back then, the federal estate tax applied to, perhaps, 4 percent ...

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Estate tax • Federal Exemption $5,000,000 per person* $10,000,000 per couple* — To get maximum tax savings, both spouses are no longer required to each have a $5,000,000 estate. Example: first spouse to die may have $4,000,000 estate. Survivor has ...

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If you haven’t signed up for it, or if you haven’t advised your clients to, YOU SHOULD. The Rochester Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO) is a resource that provides a secure online health information exchange platform. It gives authorized health ...

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I once had a new client arrive at our first meeting with a tabbed copy of a Suze Orman book in hand in which she touts the value of using revocable trusts as part of a proper estate plan. Seeing as how I had not read her book, I was not in a position to either defend or oppose her position.

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A trustee’s duty to notify contingent beneficiaries and remaindermen of New York situs trusts may now be receiving more notifications concerning the specific terms of the trust, its value and the nature and extent of the trust assets. The reasoning behind the notifications ...

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In the last few months, New York courts have opined on some unusual topics related to estate planning and estate administration. The following is a sampling of recent decisions ...

Tagged with: estate planning