A Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT) is a specialized legal tool designed to help people protect their assets while planning for long-term care expenses and qualifying for Medicaid. Medicaid is a federal and state program that provides healthcare coverage,...
You have worked hard for everything you have – and you want to make sure that your loved ones benefit from your hard work in the future. Without proper planning, however, your wealth could be swallowed up by unnecessary taxes, creditor claims and legal complications...
A power of attorney (POA) is a legal directive that gives someone else the authority to act on your behalf – and they’re commonly used in estate planning for end-of-life management. You might, for example, empower your son or daughter to make medical decisions for...
Do you intend to hold onto your business until you die, or do you hope to pass the reins over to someone else and retire, first? There’s no “one-size-fits-all” answer to this question, but it’s one that often comes up in estate planning when testators hold...
No matter whether you have a small estate or a large one, the fundamental goal of estate planning is always the same: You want to make sure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes once you are gone. However, high-net-worth individuals often find...
People thinking about their legacies may decide to create trusts for a variety of different reasons. Some people with large business holdings create trusts to protect the organizations that they created or inherited from sale or dissolution after they die. Others...
Certain individuals have a greater need to engage in estate planning than others. Family circumstances are often the main incentives people have for creating an estate plan. Other times, their financial circumstances make estate planning a necessary undertaking....
Estate planning is a gift that you give yourself in the sense that it allows you to direct how your hard-earned assets are distributed after your death. However, estate planning is also a gift you leave behind for your loved ones to create some financial security...
Creating an estate plan often requires the consideration of unpleasant concepts. People have to think about what happens if they die early or if they have some medical emergency. Wills and other estate planning documents protect the legacy and loved ones of the...
Lifetime gifting is a strategic component of estate planning, offering the dual benefit of expressing generosity towards loved ones while reducing the size of one's estate to potentially lower estate taxes. By transferring assets during their lifetime, individuals can...
