Russell Stanaland talks about California Trusts (video).
Category: Estate Planning
Top 10 Reasons to Plan Your Estate
Plan Your Estate to: 1. Provide Stability For Your Family It is common for one spouse to end up managing most of the family’s financial affairs. In the event that spouse is the first to die, the surviving spouse can be left unaware of how to carry on the family’s financial affairs. This can lead … Continue reading Top 10 Reasons to Plan Your Estate
How to Leave All Your Accounts to Someone Else When You Die
The Gizmodo Field Guide has a great summary post addressing your options available to give control to your digital life at death. There are many interesting idea here to consider. Some, such as the Facebook option that I tweeted about previously, are quick and easy, so go ahead and take care of that one! How … Continue reading How to Leave All Your Accounts to Someone Else When You Die
California Transfer Tax – Your Purchase Price Will Be Public
It is getting harder and harder for buyers to maintain privacy concerning the purchase price for real property in California. As of January 1, 2015, the time for privacy for new buyers will come to an end. The change will not impact most of the transfers necessary for your fundamental estate planning. Funding your revocable … Continue reading California Transfer Tax – Your Purchase Price Will Be Public
California Probate: How Much Does It Cost?
Basic Court Fees Let’s get the boring things out of the way first. For the most straight forward probate, there largest filing fees are incurred at the beginning and end of the process. The 2015 fee charged to file a probate petition is $450. There will be a $435 filing fee to file the petition … Continue reading California Probate: How Much Does It Cost?
Extended Time to Make Estate Tax Portability Election
We have encountered a few situations where clients believe to have missed their opportunity to take advantage of the surviving spouse’s “portability” election to transfer a deceased spouse’s unused estate tax exclusion to the surviving spouse. The IRS is simplifying the process to remedy the situation. Note that this development can be especially advantageous to … Continue reading Extended Time to Make Estate Tax Portability Election
California Probate: What's the Purpose?
California Probate: What’s the Purpose? Probate. You’ve heard the word, but what is it? Here is a brief overview to let you know what triggers the probate process and what is involved to complete the journey. In general, probate is the court supervised collection of assets, payment of debts and expenses with the net amount being … Continue reading California Probate: What's the Purpose?
2013 Tax Changes for Individuals
Tax Changes for 2013 Each year starts with some changes to our tax regime. The changes for 2013 have been much higher profile given the drama in Congress and the “fiscal cliff.” Here is a brief summary of the changes that will impact individuals this year. Individuals For 2013, standard deductions and the personal exemption, … Continue reading 2013 Tax Changes for Individuals
Estate Planning Update for Fall of 2012
Here is an interesting portion of an article by Michael D. Whitty discussing some estate planning considerations for the latter part of 2012. Conditions Remain Favorable for Lifetime Gifts and Other Estate Planning Transactions As covered in our August Estate Planning Notice, the combination of a higher gift tax exemption through 2012 and low … Continue reading Estate Planning Update for Fall of 2012
Brief Estate and Gift Tax 2012 Update
This is a brief estate and gift tax update for 2012 . (UPDATED) For an estate of any decedent dying during calendar year 2012, the basic exclusion from estate tax amount is $5,120,000, up from $5,000,000 for calendar year 2011 and the estate tax rate will be 35%. The lifetime gift tax exemption … Continue reading Brief Estate and Gift Tax 2012 Update