“How Am I Doing?” is a great way to evaluate how you are progressing in different areas of your life. It was a favorite question inviting evaluation from former NYC Mayor Ed Koch. “How am I doing in my Estate Plan?”, is a great way to consider is your Estate Plan up to date with... [Read More]
Category: Taxes
Diana Nyad Uses Prior Challenges to Reach Goal
64 year old Diana Nyad used her prior challenge of being stung in the face by jellyfish to use a special swim mask to protect her during her historic swim from Cuba to the U.S. She hadn’t “Tried & Failed”, she had “Tried & Learned” from her previous challenge of trying the open water swim.... [Read More]
North Carolina Repeals The State’s Estate Tax
The North Carolina Legislature repealed the State’s Estate Tax in July 2013 making the repeal retroactive to deaths on January 1, 2013 or later. The North Carolina State Tax was tied to the Federal Estate Tax. In other words if you did not hit or trigger the Federal Estate Tax you did not trigger any... [Read More]
The recent FORBES advises that 30% of the wealthiest people inherited their money. Therefore, their family did good Estate Planning
If good Estate Planning is not done an inheritance is lost to Taxes, Probate Costs, Squander, Lost in Divorce, or Lost in Lawsuits. You may not be FORBES wealthy, but do you want to waste everything you’ve ever earned? If you do not do good Estate Planning to transfer your “Life’s Work™” (everything you’ve earned) to... [Read More]
Senate Votes to Kill Stretch IRA
51 Democratic Senators voted to end the Stretch IRA by making an inherited IRA end within 5 years of inheriting an IRA. Currently one can “stretch out” an IRA they inherit over their lifetime. That way the one who inherits the IRA continues to get the same tax deferred growth during their lifetime as the... [Read More]
James Gandolfini’s Poor Estate Planning
Unfortunately, James Gandolfini, the movie actor famous for a number of roles, including in the series The Soprano’s, has left a multi-million dollar estate, estimated at a worth of approximately 70 million dollars and used only a simple Will. There was no Estate Tax Planning and with the Will all of his assets will be... [Read More]
“Git ‘Er Done”
Larry the Cable Guy For many of us, our tendency towards perfectionism precludes us from moving forward. Our strong desire to “get it just right” precludes us from moving forward on what needs to get done. “Paralysis by Analysis” is a good description as it often precludes the perfectionist in us from moving forward on... [Read More]
You have an Affirmative Duty to do Estate Planning
Most states, including North Carolina, have laws in place that establish what your Estate Plan will be. Those Laws may be the opposite of what you actually want. In North Carolina under those laws, in a family with a husband and wife with children, in most scenarios, two thirds (2/3) of the parent’s estate, when... [Read More]
Summer Travel and Healthcare Authority
Summer is when many Americans are traveling out-of-state. They are on vacation to new places or to visit with loved ones or family. As we cross state lines one concern is that our Healthcare Power of Attorney a/k/a Healthcare Proxy might not be accepted in another state. For example if you have a Healthcare Power... [Read More]
Steve’s Class Well Received
The reviews on Steve’s North Carolina Department of Insurance, Continuing Education Class on Wednesday morning, May 29th on “The 10 Common Estate Planning Mistakes Single People Make” were all evaluated at the highest level of “Excellent”. Some of the comments were: “Good refresher!” “Received a much better understanding of Trusts and what to plan for.”... [Read More]