Gifts can be an important part of an estate plan. In fact, an attorney that focuses on various types of revocable and irrevocable trusts might recommend including planned giving in a trust’s documentation.A recent article profiling the revocable living trust...
Month: February 2015
What type of assets are included in an estate’s valuation?
Although some assets may not have to go through probate, they may nevertheless count toward an estate's valuation.One example is life insurance proceeds. As a payable-on-death contractual arrangement, the life insurance proceeds are generally paid directly to the...
Tips for including non-probate assets in an estate plan
Certain types of assets may not be subject to probate, such as contractual designations, but that doesn’t mean that an estate plan can’t address them, along with probate or trust property. Indeed, beneficiary designations of non-probate property like...
What is the trust-fund loophole?
The so-called "trust-fund loophole" became a national news item when President Obama referenced it in his recent State of the Union address. The phrase refers to the step-up basis applied to inherited assets.Yet an attorney that focuses on estate planning knows that...
