The probate process can be overwhelming for individuals who are grieving due to the passing of a loved one and confronted with the prospect of an unknown protracted court administration. Probate, or the court supervised administration of a decedent’s estate, whether they died with a will or without a will (testate vs. intestate) is a very formalistic and statutory governed practice. ...
Continue readingIn my prior blog several months ago, I explained in general terms the rules concerning lifetime gifting and potential gift taxes associated with such gifts. I now move on to the estate tax. The estate tax and gift tax are linked at the hip, so to understand the estate tax, it’s necessary to lay some groundwork by explaining the relationship between the estate and gift taxes. Under current law, each US citizen, (as well as resident aliens, and we are talking legal resident aliens here), has an exemption from the gift tax of $5.49 million. This means that, in addition to the...
Continue readingIt's very important to have a reputable attorney for your probate needs. This article is an example of a possible worst-case scenario. Whether or not the allegations are true will remain to be seen. At Grant Morris Dodds, we believe in being beyond reproach. Thousands of clients have trusted us over the years with their probate court & probate needs. Read the details from the Las Vegas Review Journal article here....
Continue readingYou have likely heard the term “probate” used in the context of handling a person’s affairs upon their death. Probate is indeed the administering of a decedent’s estate through a formal legal process usually under the jurisdiction of a specific court. ...
Continue readingThere is a lot of confusion out there, even among many of our most astute clients, concerning estate tax rates, estate tax exemptions, annual gift exemptions and lifetime exemptions. So to begin, here are the exemptions for 2016, and where applicable for 2017. Annual gift exemptions Annual gift exemption remains at $14,000. This means that you may give to any number of different people up to $14,000 per year without any need to report the gift, unless you make other gifts which cause you to exceed this limit. So let’s say you are married, have 2 children and 3 grandchildren. You may...
Continue readingWhat Is A Living Will? A living will (sometimes called an Advanced Directive, Healthcare Directive, Directive to Physicians, or DNR Order) is a legal document that any person with capacity can execute to inform physicians, first responders, or even family members of their wishes and preferences as relating to emergency or end-of-life medical care in the event that person is not able to make or communicate those wishes. Is It Important For Me To Have A Living Will? No one likes to think about getting older, getting sick, or even becoming incapacitated. However, accidents and unforeseen events happen every single day and all...
Continue readingBack in the heyday of estate planning when just about everyone who died owning a home and an IRA would have an estate subject to this tax, the choice between paying estate tax versus paying capital gain tax was an easy one to make. Up until the last few years, the highest estate tax bracket was 55% and the top long-term capital gain tax bracket was only 15%. If you had a choice of paying the estate tax or paying the capital gain tax, the capital gain tax was the obvious choice. This choice was really so clear-cut that most of you...
Continue readingThe pain you feel at the loss of a loved one is often compounded if your loved one died without a will. During a time when you should be able to grieve, the uncertainty created by the lack of a will can cause real problems that you cannot handle on your own. Some of those are very urgent and can compound and create further complications if you make the wrong choice. You may now be dealing with one or more of the following problems: Handling the burial or cremation of your loved one. Who has authority to make those arrangements? Payment...
Continue readingWe will all die one day—unless you know something we don’t. We recently came across an article written by Bronnie Ware, a home hospice nurse. After years of working with those who are literally laying in their deathbeds, she recorded the top five most common final regrets. They are as follows: 1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. 2. I wish I didn’t work so hard. 3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings. 4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. 5. I wish that...
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