Are You Probate-Proof? Proactive Estate Planning with Your Attorney Is the Smartest Way to Avoid Probate Important Questions: When was the last time you had an estate planning attorney perform a [...]
Debts & Death By: Marc R. Carlson, July 1, 2019 Unfortunately, your debts don’t expire when you do. Most debts still need to be paid off, if possible. However, who is responsible for paying a [...]
A “probate asset” is any asset owned by a person at his or her death that in owned or titled in his or her sole name that has no way of passing to a living beneficiary without a [...]
3 Tips To Set Your Beneficiaries Up For Success. Here are a few pointers for setting up your beneficiaries for success: Use estate planning tools like discretionary and incentive trusts. In [...]
Estate planning is a two-sided coin. The side everyone thinks about is asset transfer planning after death. However, the other side of the coin is hugely important because it impacts you, your [...]
CHANGES HAPPEN – often unexpectedly. Life moves fast and procrastination can harm you and your loved ones. When certain circumstances change, you should amend your will or trust plan. When you [...]
CART = DOCUMENTS (Like a Will) HORSE = ESTATE PLANNING FOR YOUR SITUATION AND NEEDS MOST PEOPLE ARE DOCUMENT-FOCUSED FIRST AND JUST SAY, “I NEED A SIMPLE WILL.” Putting the cart before the [...]
Marc Carlson | April 4, 2016 QUESTION: Did you work 30 to 40 years so that all you have been blessed with ends up with your daughter’s x-husband, your son’s creditors, Uncle Sam, or your child’s [...]
Marc Carlson | December 10, 2015 The selection of a trustee to manage and periodically distribute both income and principal held in a “Descendant’s Trust” (“Dynasty Trust”), is an important [...]
Marc Carlson | December 9, 2015 The Problems for Children Who Inherit an IRA or QRP The hard-earned retirement fund you accumulated over your lifetime is one of the most precious gifts you can [...]
Marc Carlson | November 2, 2015 Folks often avoid estate planning (will planning or trust planning) because of the subject matter—incapacity, death, taxes and asset distribution. However, no [...]
Some view asset protection planning with a skeptical eye. They believe there is a moral obligation to pay one’s debts. They think that asset protection planning is immoral because it prevents a [...]
Marc Carlson | October 2, 2015 Studies have shown that more than 90% of family wealth is lost by the end of the third generation. To help clients avoid this, advisors must become adept at [...]
Studies have shown that more than 90% of family wealth is lost by the end of the third generation. To help clients avoid this, advisors must become adept at bridging the disconnect among [...]
Marc Carlson | September 20, 2015 The practice of medicine is a profession fraught with liability. It’s not just medical malpractice claims either – employment related issues (wrongful [...]
Marc Carlson | September 14, 2015 Farming or ranching is more than a means of livelihood – it is about preserving a legacy and unique way of life. Unfortunately, many farmers and ranchers don’t [...]
Marc Carlson | September 2, 2015 A will or trust contest can derail a client’s final wishes, rapidly deplete their estate, and tear their loved ones apart. But it doesn’t have to end like this. [...]
Marc Carlson | July 27, 2015 Asset protection is vitally important in our ever more litigious society, and more wealth planning teams are needed who understand the intricacies of this area and [...]
Marc Carlson | May 15, 2015 Estate planning is not only about having a plan in place to deal with what happens at your death, it is also about having a plan in place to deal with what happens if [...]
Marc Carlson | April 1, 2015 There is always a media swarm around the death of a celebrity, especially when they’re young, active in their careers, beloved, and tragic. The death of actor Philip [...]
Marc Carlson | April 1, 2015 Farming or ranching is more than a means of livelihood – it is about preserving a legacy and unique way of life. Unfortunately, many farmers and ranchers don’t fully [...]
Marc Carlson | March 26, 2015 Income tax basis may not be the most exciting topic to read about. However, it is a critically important topic to anyone who owns significant assets. Gaining an [...]
Marc Carlson | March 9, 2015 The signing of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (“ATRA”) on January 2, 2013, certainly marked a transition for wealth and estate planning professionals and [...]
Marc Carlson | February 15, 2015 Trusts that continue for the benefit of a surviving spouse’s lifetime and then for the benefit of several generations have become the norm. Drafting trust [...]
Marc Carlson | February 1, 2015 A will or trust contest can derail your final wishes, rapidly deplete your estate, and tear your loved ones apart. But with proper planning, you can prevent a [...]
Content Writer | January 20, 2015 Whether your client is a parent with future educational obligations for young ones, or perhaps a loving aunt, uncle, grandparent, or stepparent, now more than [...]
Marc Carlson | January 16, 2015 Only the very wealthy and those in high-risk professions need asset protection planning, right? That’s a myth. In reality, we all need asset protection. Why? [...]
Marc Carlson | January 7, 2015 With the new year at our door, it’s time to start thinking about your new year’s resolutions. It doesn’t matter whether you have an estate plan or [...]
Marc Carlson | January 2, 2015 Asset protection planning is a powerful way to provide additional value to your clients. In this newsletter you will learn about seven trust-based asset protection [...]
Marc Carlson | November 6, 2014 Knowing the ins and outs of reducing income in view of the new tax laws will add value to your client relationships. In this issue you will learn how: Charitable [...]
Marc Carlson | August 22, 2014 If you’re like most people, when you hear “estate planning” or “asset protection planning,” you think of someone like JR Ewing of the 1978 show Dallas, Bill Gates, [...]
Marc Carlson | August 4, 2014 With the end of the year approaching fast, now is the time to consider ways to reduce your 2014 income tax bill. In this issue you will learn: How charitable [...]
Marc Carlson | July 30, 2014 If you’re reading this, you need an estate plan. Why? The short answer is ‘Everyone, age 18 and older needs an estate plan.’ It doesn’t matter [...]
Marc Carlson | July 21, 2014 You don’t have to make your family’s assets easy for creditors to reach. Protecting your hard-earned assets for the benefit of yourself and your family can be [...]
Marc Carlson | July 2, 2014 Studies have shown that 70% of family wealth is lost by the end of the second generation and 90% by the end of the third. Don’t let your loved ones become part of [...]
Marc Carlson | June 23, 2014 Many of your clients are baby boomers (now ages 50-68) moving into retirement and dealing with all the issues related to aging: elderly parents, kids in college, [...]
Marc Carlson | June 2, 2014 Childfree individuals and couples often face choices, decisions, and questions, which you are uniquely qualified to address. Like many allied financial professionals, [...]
Content Writer | May 12, 2014 Portability laws and the opportunities they create have significantly increased advisors’ roles in estate planning. No longer is the standard credit shelter trust [...]
Marc Carlson | May 2, 2014 Many of us in the legal, financial and accounting worlds discover our new clients’ well-intentioned, yet disastrous, plans after the fact. The widow has already [...]
Marc Carlson | April 7, 2014 In a landmark, unanimous 9-0 decision handed down on June 12, 2014, the United States Supreme Court held that inherited IRAs are not “retirement funds” within the [...]
Marc Carlson | March 14, 2014 When it comes to financial and wealth planning issues, more often than not, people go to a professional they trust. They may be working with a financial planner, [...]
Marc Carlson | March 1, 2014 If you didn’t update your estate plan last year when the federal tax laws changed, 2014 is the year to make some important changes in it. Alterations to tax laws can [...]
Marc Carlson | February 23, 2014 Revocable Living, Irrevocable Life Insurance, Charitable Lead, and Grantor Retained Annuity – these are trust descriptors that are familiar to estate [...]
Marc Carlson | February 14, 2014 Some think that trusts are used only for end-of-life planning. Trusts, however, are like wrenches: they come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, each [...]
Marc Carlson | February 10, 2014 Estate planning is not only about having a plan in place to deal with what happens after a client’s death, it is also about having a plan in place to deal with [...]
Marc Carlson | February 6, 2014 Income Tax Options Run Out December 31 for Non-Grantor Trusts. Most clients and advisors have not yet caught up to the impact of soaring income tax rates on [...]
Marc Carlson | February 2, 2014 The new Pension Protection Act of 2006 (signed into law on August 17, 2006) creates significant planning opportunities for advisors and their clients who [...]
Marc Carlson | January 4, 2014 Last month’s issue of The Wealth Counselor examined the many benefits of 529 Plans, including the income tax and gift and estate tax benefits of these popular [...]
Marc Carlson | January 2, 2014 Last month’s issue of The Wealth Counselor examined the various educational savings vehicles available to clients, including 529 plans, UGMA/UTMAs, Coverdell [...]
Marc Carlson | December 19, 2013 Protecting assets against loss has become a common goal of estate planning. Asset protection trusts come in many different forms and can be used to protect [...]
Marc Carlson | December 16, 2013 Avoid Bloopers: You can avoid committing “bloopers” in estate planning. Take a look at the 17 Common Bloopers. An educated person will be motivated to take [...]
Marc Carlson | December 5, 2013 This month’s issue of The Wealth Counselor examines the unique planning requirements of families with children, grandchildren or other family members (such [...]
Marc Carlson | November 25, 2013 This issue of The Wealth Counselor explores many of the common misperceptions about trust owned life insurance – plus a process for you to add significant [...]
Marc Carlson | November 2, 2013 From time to time, it’s good to review why having a complete, up-to-date estate plan is so important. In addition to confirming our own actions, it can provide us [...]
Marc Carlson | November 2, 2013 All too often, estate planning is viewed as a transaction: a will, a living trust, powers of attorney, etc. But the best planning happens when the professional can [...]
Marc Carlson | November 2, 2013 Probate in Colorado is normally not that difficult. However, it is kind of like elective surgery; it is not absolutely necessary and it costs money. In addition, [...]
Marc Carlson | October 10, 2013 Planning for tax-qualified plans, which includes IRAs, 401(k)s and qualified retirement plans, requires a careful examination of the potential taxes that impact [...]
Marc Carlson | September 9, 2013 No one likes to think about the possibility of their own disability or the disability of a loved one. However, as we’ll see below, the statistics are clear [...]
Marc Carlson | August 22, 2013 Probate is the legal process of transferring title of the Decedent’s (the one who passed away) assets from the Decedent to the heirs or beneficiaries. For probate [...]
Marc Carlson | August 21, 2013 When considering how to leave assets to adult children, the first step is to decide how much each one should receive. Most parents want to treat their children [...]
Marc Carlson | August 15, 2013 The last issue of The Wealth Counselor addressed the significant need for clients to plan for the possibility of disability, and how proper disability planning more [...]
Marc Carlson | August 8, 2013 This month’s issue of The Wealth Counselor addresses a topic that many professionals do not understand fully, life settlements. For the right clients, a life [...]
Marc Carlson | July 26, 2013 If you are part of the baby boomer generation (born between 1946 and 1964), you may also find that you are a member of the sandwich generation, with responsibilities [...]
Marc Carlson | July 20, 2013 A prior issue of The Wealth Counselor addressed the planning opportunities that exist with planning for Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California), particularly where the [...]
Marc Carlson | July 17, 2013 It will probably cost more initially to set up a well-drafted living trust than to have a will prepared. A true cost comparison should include not only the expense to [...]
Marc Carlson | July 3, 2013 Think for a few moments about what would happen if you suddenly became incapacitated or died. Would your spouse or family know what to do? Would they know where to [...]
Marc Carlson | June 15, 2013 This issue of The Wealth Counselor addresses a topic that is important to clients and all wealth planning professionals – trusts. When used properly, trusts can [...]
Marc Carlson | May 28, 2013 The last issue of The Wealth Counselor examined trusts and the asset protection benefits provided to trust makers and their beneficiaries through the utilization of [...]
Marc Carlson | May 11, 2013 Before 2007, a non-spouse beneficiary of a qualified plan was stuck taking distributions under the terms of the plan, which typically required full distribution within [...]
Marc Carlson | May 2, 2013 For many clients, pets are members of the family. These clients often say that if something happens to them, they are more concerned with what will happen to their pets [...]
Marc Carlson | April 20, 2013 Most professionals who work with trusts have plenty of “nightmare stories” about trustees chosen by clients for their irrevocable trusts. No doubt this is because [...]
Marc Carlson | April 11, 2013 Asset protection planning is a growing area of practice for many members of the estate planning team. But, it is not something that one member of the team can do [...]
Marc Carlson | April 3, 2013 Coordinating retirement plans with wealth transfer planning can be challenging. This is primarily because retirement accounts are driven by income tax laws designed [...]
Marc Carlson | March 21, 2013 You want a satisfying, long-term relationship with clients, meaningful recurring revenue and referrals from existing clients. Your clients want a trusted advisor [...]
Marc Carlson | March 14, 2013 According to the College Board, the average cost of attending an in-state four-year public college in 2011-2012 is more than $19,000 per year; for a four-year [...]
Marc Carlson | March 4, 2013 Our clients expect their estate planning will cause their property to go to whom they want, the way they want, when they want and that it will minimize the impact of [...]
Marc Carlson | February 25, 2013 The next nine months are an exceptional window of opportunity for your clients to make family wealth transfers. The federal gift and estate tax exemption is [...]
Marc Carlson | February 13, 2013 A large part of many financial service professionals’ practices is helping clients with business succession planning. Yet only 29% of these professionals have [...]
Marc Carlson | February 6, 2013 “Small businesses,” that is, those that have less than 500 employees, comprise 99.9 percent of all businesses in the United States. The owners of these businesses [...]
Marc Carlson | January 30, 2013 Planning for the possibility of disability is probably the most overlooked part of estate planning. While many people will give serious consideration to estate [...]
Marc Carlson | January 22, 2013 When a closely held business is a significant part of a client’s estate, as is often the case, business succession planning becomes an important part of the [...]
Marc Carlson | January 9, 2013 Helping clients build, manage and protect their wealth is the goal of each member of the advisory team—financial/investment advisors, CPAs, attorneys and insurance [...]
Marc Carlson | January 2, 2013 Choice of a charitable planning technique is mostly driven by the type of client and asset involved. Therefore, in this issue of The Wealth Counselor, we will focus [...]
Marc Carlson | October 15, 2012 Washington’s negotiations about 2013 tax laws are getting lots of press. As estate planning professionals, we are often asked our opinions about what the 2013 [...]
Content Writer | August 19, 2012 On January 2, 2013, the President signed into law the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (the 2012 Tax Act) to deal with the so-called “fiscal cliff.” The 2012 [...]
Marc Carlson | August 5, 2012 Many clients have large IRAs and retirement plan accounts and need special estate planning for these assets. A 2009 study by the Investment Company Institute found [...]
Marc Carlson | July 24, 2012 The Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) provides substantial income and estate tax benefits to the married residents of the nine “community property” states. A tenth state [...]
Marc Carlson | July 12, 2012 The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (which became law on January 2, 2013) made permanent the temporary estate/gift/generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions [...]
Marc Carlson | June 27, 2012 With the federal gift and estate tax exemption currently at $5.25 million per person ($10.5 million for married couples), some clients and potential clients with [...]
Marc Carlson | June 13, 2012 The collision between economics and demographics is increasing client concerns about running out of money in retirement. Defined benefit plans are pretty much a thing [...]
Marc Carlson | May 30, 2012 The “blended family” comprises a fast-growing segment of US households. Whether an attorney or investment advisor, fine-tune your intake or initial interview process [...]
Marc Carlson | May 16, 2012 It is vital for each member of the advisory team to understand the roles of the other members in meeting their client’s needs. Therefore, in this issue of The Wealth [...]
Marc Carlson | May 10, 2012 The world changes; clients’ circumstances change; motivations and interests change. As these changes occur—often gradually—“hidden” risks emerge that can significantly [...]
Marc Carlson | April 18, 2012 The purpose of this newsletter is to inform you of changes in the law and to provide planning information and general financial news. These newsletters also give me [...]
Marc Carlson | March 27, 2012 For many pet owners, pets are members of the family. These individuals often say that if something happens to them, they are more concerned with what will happen to [...]
Marc Carlson | March 19, 2012 Planning for the New “Zero Percent” Tax BracketThe Need for Life Insurance Planning for the New “Zero Percent” Tax Bracket There was a recent [...]
Marc Carlson | March 18, 2012 With the political and economic climate as it is in the summer of 2008, we are not likely to see total repeal of the federal estate tax in the foreseeable future. [...]
Marc Carlson | March 8, 2012 With the rash of bank failures, you may wonder whether – and to what extent – the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) will protect your bank [...]
Marc Carlson | March 2, 2012 These are difficult times. The “experts” now acknowledge that we are in a recession – and that we have been so for some time. Consumer confidence is [...]
Marc Carlson | February 22, 2012 Actually, they do have something very important in common: your estate plan. In this issue of The Wealth Advisor, we will look at what the recent debt ceiling [...]
Marc Carlson | February 16, 2012 Almost everyone knows someone who had a problem and lost everything. Claims can, for example, allege professional liability, responsibility for a car accident, or [...]
Marc Carlson | February 12, 2012 You have signed all of your estate planning documents and, if your plan includes trusts, completed their funding. You sit back, relax, and enjoy the peace of mind [...]
Content Writer | February 8, 2012 The law passed to deal with the so-called “fiscal cliff” included revisions to estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (“GST”) tax laws and income tax laws [...]
Marc Carlson | January 26, 2012 Your loved ones are counting on you to preserve the family legacy and to minimize the confusion and chaos that can occur when families fail to have a plan in [...]
Marc Carlson | January 12, 2012 The aging, healthcare and special needs conversation is vitally important to you and your family. Except for government employees and Social Security, retirement [...]
Marc Carlson | January 6, 2012 Financial planning has become a generic term. You find it mentioned across media channels from banks to brokerages to accounting firms to personal finance. While [...]
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