The revocable living trust is the basic building block of most estate plans. It’s the tool that allows your estate to avoid the expense, delay, and uncertainty of probate court, and it is the tool that can hold just about any of your assets. While revocable living trusts are ubiquitous in the world of estate planning, it seems that many people are still confused about them, so we are going to clear up a few commonly Read More
What If?
Most people start the process of estate planning to deal with “What If”. What If you died and your children were still too young to care for themselves? What If you were no longer physically able to care for yourself? What If you had very specific instructions for how your property should be passed on? Every person on the planet has an individual list of things they worry about. And those worries are often what Read More
What Business Owners Need To Know About The New Tax Law
After much twisting of arms and gnashing of teeth, Congress took action on the tax issue… On December 16, 2010, the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 was passed. As with any legislation there are hundreds of pages and thousands of words but, in a nutshell, this is how the legislation will affect you and your business: Tax Rates The current tax rates of 10, 25, 28, 33 Read More
The Straight Scoop on the New Tax Law and Your Estate Plan
Tax laws are confusing on a good day… What you can deduct… What you have to claim… And with all the recent changes to the laws, it’s almost impossible to know if you’re doing the right thing. We’re hoping this will help. Here’s the straight scoop on how the new federal tax law affects your estate plan (Important Note: these are changes to the federal tax laws – Massachusetts tax laws, including the Massachusetts Read More
New Year’s Resolutions For Your Portfolio
We all make New Year’s resolutions… Losing weight… Spending more time with family… Learning a new language… Few of us think of our investment portfolio in terms of resolutions. But we should. This is a great time to sit down and really look at how your investments have done this year and plan for the next. If you’re a do-it-yourself investor, with all the market volatility this would be a great time to talk to Read More
“Happy Holidays From Your Acton Estate Planning Lawyer!” – How’s Your Estate Plan?
By David Feakes, Acton Estate Planning Lawyer and Personal Family Lawyer. The end of the year is always a good time to reassess where we are financially… Plan for the future… Correct past mistakes… And, most importantly, change course if needed. This year, a review of your estate plan is more vital than ever. The resurrection of the federal estate tax and generation-skipping transfer tax (GST) in 2011, the Read More
Are You Ready for the 2011 Tax Changes?
If ever there was a time to call your estate planning or tax attorney, now is that time. The tax cuts instituted by the Bush administration in 2001 and 2003 are set to expire in 2011 unless Congress does something to stop it before the end of this year. There are many proposed bills up for discussion right now but it’s anyone’s guess which, if any, will be passed in time. If you are a single person earning Read More
