Six mistakes, actually. This mistake resonated with me because, well, I’ve made it: Mistake 6: Not Realizing That Stock Can Be Donated Directly to Charity Cutting a check or hauling your old clothes to Goodwill isn’t the only last-minute way to make tax-deductible charitable contributions. According to Crystal Faulkner, a partner with MCM CPAs and Advisors […]
At least that’s the moral of this story. Actually, here’s the moral as stated at the end of that story: “The moral of the story for practitioners is clear. Whenever you have a client that is either going through a divorce or is already divorced, do everything you can to get the client to change […]
That’s the claim in this piece by the Motley Fool. Myth 1: Social Security benefits will disappear in the future. Myth 2: You should always take Social Security benefits as soon as you qualify. Myth 3: What you do with your Social Security has no effect on your family. I won’t take time here to […]
From the article New Basis Reporting Requirements for Executors and Beneficiaries: Recent federal legislation adds fresh compliance burdens to an old concept in federal tax law: the step-up in tax basis of appreciated property at death. New reporting requirements will apply to estates required to file a federal estate tax return after July 31, 2015 and […]
What’s a stretch IRA, you say? Well, it’s not a new type of IRA, rather it’s a strategy to preserve the value of an inherited IRA, to defer the tax on as much of the IRA as possible for as long as possible. As the law now stands, the owner of an IRA has to […]
You and your spouse have decided you need to do some estate planning, and you’re finally sitting down with an attorney to do same. He or she starts talking about a will for you and a will for your spouse. A trust for you and a trust for your spouse. And a . . . […]
So I sometimes forget that everybody’s smart, just on different subjects. For example, I don’t know much about physics. My teachers tried, but my head could only hold so much gravity and speed of light and such. Well, today I was online in an online forum where non-lawyers posed legal questions to attorneys. These were […]
I’ve just finished reading the Estate of Purdue case, a tax court case decided in December. The case is interesting as an introduction to sophisticated tax planning strategies–FLLC, trusts, and all that. However, the real lesson from this case–and others like it–is that facts matter to courts. In this case, the IRS was contending that […]
That happened in the Estate of Purdue case decided on December 28, 2015–less than three months ago. And you can read a brief summary of why in the instructively titled article Attention to How Your Farm Business is Organized Pays Off for the Heirs at Tax Time. Bottom line, a family limited liability company formed with […]
If your goal is to ensure your retirement plan is able to provide income, tax-deferred growth, and long term security for your family, a Trusteed IRA may be a good option for you. It may give you peace of mind, knowing that your hard earned money will not be blown or diverted to spouses, creditors, or anyone else outside of […]