The Alternative Minimum Tax is a Tax Law that was put in place years ago to stop people who were “Wealthy”, but were not paying income taxes due to deductions. The “Wealthy” included anyone making approximately $45,000.00 per year and up. When Congress created the Alternative Minimum Tax they “forgot” to put in a “cost... [Read More]
Tag: Financial
Why the need to update Estate Plans
Your Estate Plan needs to be regularly reviewed and updated. Three major parts of your Estate Plan are constantly moving. The first is the relationships with the people who have roles as Trustee, Personal Representative, Health Care Agent and Financial Power of Attorney and other roles. Those people in those roles may need to be... [Read More]
Continuing Education Class – Overlooked Uses of Life Insurance
The Professional Education Class on Overlooked Uses of Life Insurance will be held on Wednesday, September 26, 2012, beginning at 8:00 a.m. in the Biltmore Building located at One North Pack Square, Asheville, N.C. Steve will teach this one hour continuing education class. Topics include: Why Life Insurance is often the most obvious, logical, and needed... [Read More]
Adult Guardianship Is a Custody Case
Adult incompetency proceedings, also know as guardianship cases, consist of two parts. Both parts are court proceedings in Probate Court or before the Clerk of Superior Court in North Carolina. The Clerk of Superior Court is also the Probate Judge in North Carolina. There are two major parts of the guardianship case. The first is... [Read More]
Asset Protection Workshop – Very Interactive!
Our Asset Protection Workshop for Financial Professionals, CPAs, Accountants, and Insurance Professionals was very interactive between all parties and extremely insightful. We learned from the Accounting Professionals how their clients look at protecting their assets; we looked at available insurance from the Insurance Professionals as to what they help insure; and we heard from Financial... [Read More]
Asset Protection Workshop – May 30
I will present the workshop “Five Common Asset Protection Mistakes” on Wednesday, May 30, 2012, from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. The class will provide one hour of continuing education credit from the N.C. Department of Insurance, and is for CPAs, Accountants, Financial and Insurance Professionals. In one hour we will cover: 1. Why you have... [Read More]
Analysts Project Estate Tax Exemption Going Back Down to $1 Million and Estate Tax Rates Back Up to 55%
Analysts recently advised that given the upcoming elections, they don’t anticipate Tax Law changes until 2013 or 2014 (click here to read the article). Therefore, they anticipate the Bush Tax cuts expiring on December 31, 2012, leading us back to Estate Taxes being applied on Estates with more than $1 million and Estate Tax rates... [Read More]
Constantly Update Your Estate Plan
You must update your Estate Plan, including your Trust and Will, constantly. The reasons you need to update your Estate Plan – Revocable Living Trust, Will, Health Care Powers, etc. – is that three things are always changing: the law, your relationships, and your assets. 1. The law is regularly changing by changes in the... [Read More]
Don’t Own Your Rental House in Your Name
The problem with owning your rental house or apartment or even your business property in your own name is that you could have great liability to someone if they get hurt on your property. If a tenant in your rental house falls in the bathtub or down the stairs, you could potentially receive a disastrous... [Read More]
What Changes Will You Make in 2012?
This year will be a most interesting year as we move toward a Presidential Election, plus many other federal, state, and local positions that are up for election. The “kick the can down the road” patch on the tax code expires at the end of 2012, many of the “Bush tax cuts” expire, and we... [Read More]