Gone To Texas!
As of July 31, 2022, I have closed my Virginia office and moved to the Texas Hill Country. This means that I won’t be taking on any new Virginia clients. Existing Virginia clients can still call, email, or text me for support, questions, emailed copies of your documents, and the like, and I’ll continue to […]
Your New Estate Planning Checklist
Fortunately (or unfortunately, if you’re not all that happy with our current estate and gift tax laws), the start of 2022 brings no significant changes to the federal or Virginia tax laws or to Virginia laws affecting estate and trust planning and administration. So instead of an update on new laws and tax rates, here’s […]
Your Estate Plan, Your Trusts, and Your Retirement Accounts
You should read this excellent short column by financial writer Arden Dale of The Wall Street Journal, “Minding Retirement Accounts in Estate Plans,” on integrating IRAs, 401(k) plans, federal employee Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) accounts, and similar retirement savings accounts into estate and trust plans. The article deals primarily with choosing primary beneficiaries in a […]
Sure Enough, Congress Took Away Your Kids’ Stretch IRAs
On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed into law the “Secure Act,” which eliminated the benefits of “Stretch IRAs” for non-spouse beneficiaries of IRAs, 401Ks, Thrift Savings Plans, and other qualified retirement plans. Today, rather than being able to stretch annual required minimum distributions (RMDs) over their projected lifespans, nonspouse beneficiaries of inherited IRAs will […]
7 Major Errors in Estate Planning – A Financial Advisor’s View
These days, access to estate planning counsel and financial advisors is no longer restricted to the very rich. (Well, there was never actually an exclusive club of rich folks who kept the secret rituals secret, but it used to cost a lot more than it does today. And in the good old days, only the […]
Tax-Free IRA Charitable Rollovers Reinstated by American Taxpayer Relief Act (“ATRA”)
From 2006 through 2011, individuals age 70-1/2 or older were eligible to make donations of up to $100,000 directly from their individual retirement accounts (IRAs) to benefit public charities. Although they received no charitable deduction for such transfers, they didn’t have to report the distribution as taxable income, either. Result: zero tax. And, such a […]
Consider “Front-Loading” Your Life Insurance Trust Contributions
A proposal that first appeared in the Obama administration’s failed 2012 budget proposal sought to override existing state laws and limit the terms of cascading or “dynasty” trusts to 90 years. This proposal didn’t make it into law, but might resurface again in a future Democratic administration or congress. Frontload your irrecovable life insurance trustAlthough […]
How Low Interest Rates Can Cut Your Tax Bill
I often point out tax-saving opportunities created by our current low interest rates, and an October 1, 2011 Wall Street Journal article does a nice job of making the point again. In How Low Rates Can Cut Your Tax Bill, Tax Report columnist Laura Saunders points out that our current low interest rates (a Section […]