blog & insights

Warning: Don’t Let Creditors Inherit from You

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Shocking to most people, the retirement account you leave for your spouse can be seized in a divorce, lawsuit, or bankruptcy. 3 Options Available To Surviving Spouses When your surviving spouse inherits your IRA, he or she generally has three options: Cash out the inherited IRA and pay the associated income tax. WARNING: the cashed-out…

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Investment, Insurance, Annuity, and Retirement Planning Considerations

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If your clients choose to use a Standalone Retirement Trust (SRT) to provide asset protection benefits for their beneficiaries, then the tax-related asset allocation strategy would be essentially the same as without an SRT, with one small exception. Consider skewing your investment plan toward: loading retirement accounts and inherited retirement accounts with bonds, REITS, and…

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Not Just Death and Taxes: 5 Essential Legal Documents You Need for Incapacity Planning

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Comprehensive estate planning is more than your legacy after death, avoiding probate, and saving on taxes. Good estate planning includes a plan in place to manage your affairs if you become incapacitated during your life and can no longer make decisions for yourself. What happens without an incapacity plan? Without a comprehensive incapacity plan in…

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Avoiding an Eviction

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You love your new house or apartment, but unfortunately you’ve fallen on hard times. Maybe you had an unexpected medical bill or were laid off. If you’re at the point of risking eviction, you want to avoid a lengthy legal dispute with your landlord. It is very likely they have more time and resources than…

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Who Should Be Your Successor Trustee?

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If you have a revocable living trust, you probably named yourself as trustee so you can continue to manage your own financial affairs, but eventually someone will need to step in for you when you are no longer able to act due to incapacity or after your death. The Successor Trustee plays an important role…

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