If you’ve recently lost a loved one, you might be going through the difficult process of wrapping up their affairs—some of which are all too easy to overlook while you're mourning your loss. Unfortunately, this can lead to unnecessary expenses or, for some services, significant financial consequences. With that in mind, here’s...
Intestacy: What Happens When One Dies Without a Will
When someone dies without a will, the assets owned by that person do not pass to the State. Rather, the laws of the State where one resides determine who the assets are distributed to. Generally speaking, the people who inherit are...
SOME BASIC ESTATE TAX TIPS
Most people do not realize that, for estate tax purposes, all of your assets, including retirement accounts and life insurance, are part of your taxable estate. Financial advisors often tout the fact that life insurance is not taxable, which is only partially true. It is not income taxable but unless...
How to Get Your New Business Started
So you have decided to take the leap and start your own business. It is an exciting adventure. It is important to make sure that when doing so, you take the right steps. First, you need to surround yourself with capable and responsive professionals. Of course, an accountant...
Important Tips for Starting Your Own Business
Starting one's own business is an exciting endeavor. Getting off to a right start will help one to avoid some of the pitfalls typically encountered. One of the first things to do when considering starting your own business is for you to conduct research to find out what licenses you...
How to Avoid the Estate Tax
There are many techniques for avoiding the estate tax, some of which are complicated and expensive to implement. However, there are some very simple steps one can take to avoid, or at least minimize, the estate tax. First, what most people do not realize is that everything...
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The Benefits of Revocable Trusts
Advertisements, seminars and books which promote revocable living trusts foster the misconception that probate is an evil to be avoided. Living trusts are also touted as devices which avoid estate taxes and protect assets from long-term health care costs.
The reality is that probate is usually not a difficult...