Category: Estate Planning

  • Two business colleagues — a woman and a man — reviewing content on a tablet in an office

    Estate Planning: An Introduction 

    By definition, estate planning is a process designed to help you manage and preserve your assets while you are alive, and to conserve and control their distribution after your death according to your goals and objectives. But what estate planning means to you specifically depends on who you are. Your age, health, wealth, lifestyle, life stage,…

  • A woman in an orange top reviewing a document at her desk with a laptop and coffee nearby

    Estate Tax Changes Under Recent Tax Acts 

    Introduction  The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (the 2010 Tax Act) was signed into law in December 2010. This law contained dramatic changes to the federal gift and estate tax and the federal generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax. These changes were temporary — for 2011 and 2012 only. However, the…

  • Asian family — mother, father, and young daughter — cooking together at a kitchen counter

    A Roadmap for Your Family 

    A will is an essential legal document that describes how your estate should be distributed upon your death. It is the basis for the probate process and can serve as a guide for your heirs.  A letter of instruction has no formal legal status, but it could be just as important as a will in…