Category: Estate Planning

Five Common Mistakes with “DIY” Estate Plans; “Do It Yourself” Estate Plans in Illinois

In light of the current pandemic, many Americans are becoming aware of the importance of creating or updating their estate planning documents. With the extension of some states’ stay in place orders, (more…)

Take Your Power Back from COVID-19:
Estate Planning Steps to Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones
News about the coronavirus is everywhere, and we have all been affected by it in some way, even if we are currently completely healthy. Although it may seem as though circumstances are (more…)

Preparing for Coronavirus: The #1 Legal Document Every Adult Needs to Have
As the coronavirus continues to disrupt daily life and leave Americans uncertain of the future, you don’t have to feel helpless during this pandemic. In fact, now is a great time to be proactive and plan ahead (more…)

Working. Paying Bills. Paying taxes. Buying a home. Starting a family. Planning for the future. In the 21st Century vernacular, doing any or all of these things may be classified as “adulting”. A recent survey shows that Millennials, who are new or relatively new to all of this, are (more…)

There are several reasons why you should update your existing trust or perhaps your entire estate plan. While estate planning documents do not necessarily have a shelf life, they may not fulfill your goals when your circumstances change. Of course, having estate planning documents (more…)

A 2018 Northwestern Mutual Planning & Progress Study has found that financial security in retirement is a key issue for many Americans.

One such option is a Health and Education Exclusion Trust (HEET). This type of trust gives grandparents the ability to set aside assets to be used for the health and/or educational expenses of their grandchildren and distant descendants. While the grantor’s children cannot directly (more…)

The new estate tax law stipulates that a single person could die owning up to $11.2 million without paying the dreaded death tax and for married couples the amount has been increased to $22.4 million, if a timely portability election was made after the death of the first spouse to (more…)

Below you will find all the important tax figures for the 2018 tax year:

Federal Estate Tax
– 2018 Exemption Equivalent: $11, 220,000.00* (up from $5,490.000 in 2017)
– Annual Inflation Indexing: Yes (rounded annually to the nearest $10,000)
– Portability of unused exemption to surviving (more…)

You may be able to postpone taking your first required distribution from an IRA until the following year.  However, that can trigger a bigger tax bill.”

Kiplinger’s article, “When to Take Your First Required Minimum Distribution From an IRA,” explains that when you must take your Required (more…)