When the Titanic went down in 1912, several women chose to remain on board and drown with their husbands; most famously was Ida Straus, whose family co-owned Macy’s Department Store. Although Titanic-scale disasters are extraordinarily rare, you should nevertheless include
Inattention to beneficiary designations and jointly titled assets can quickly unravel your estate plan. Suppose, for example, that your will provides for all of your property to be divided equally among your three children. But what if your IRA, which
A revocable living trust is often used to complement a will. For instance, you might transfer specific securities to the trust. Notably, these assets generally don’t have to go through the probate process, which can be time-consuming and expensive. Thus,
For many people, the first thing they think of when they hear the words “estate plan” is a will. And for good reason, as it’s the cornerstone of any estate plan. But do you know what provisions should be included
To gift or not to gift? It’s a deceptively complex question. The temporary doubling of the federal gift and estate tax exemption — to an inflation-adjusted $11.7 million in 2021 — is viewed by some people as a “use it
People sometimes keep assets hidden without letting their families know about their location or even that they exist. Similarly, they may have life insurance policies no one knows about. Using a fictional example, here’s why full disclosure of your assets
As a formal estate planning term, “tangible personal property” likely won’t elicit much emotion from you or your loved ones. However, the items that make up tangible personal property, such as jewelry, antiques, photographs and collectibles, may be the most
One advantage of inheriting an IRA from your spouse is that you’re entitled to transfer the funds to a spousal rollover IRA. The rollover IRA is treated as your own IRA for tax purposes, which means you need not begin