Welcome to 2023! It’s the start of a new year, a new month, and it’s time for new resolutions. Now, while anyone can set goals or make good old-fashioned New Year’s resolutions, seniors tend to struggle the most. Goal setting can seem irrelevant later in life, but research begs to differ. Instead, goal setting can be a factor in slowing…
In Part I of this series on taxes, we discussed federal taxes. For Part II, we will discuss state taxes. State Taxes: Income Taxes The first type of state tax that affects estate planning is individual income tax. Like federal income tax, state income tax can apply to individuals, married couples, and entities, including trusts. Income tax is a tax…
In a famous quote by Benjamin Franklin, “nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Now taxes are not fun; however, they are certain, and there are many different kinds of taxes. In estate planning, we deal with several different types of taxes, and people often mix them up. Here we will lay out the different types…
A client recently asked about leaving property to his only child and wanted to know if he could add his child on title to his home rather than using a trust. The client wanted to use joint tenancy to avoid probate and smooth transition between parent and child. While my client was correct about avoiding probate and the smoother transition,…
This seems like a simple question, right? My retirement goes to the person I listed as my beneficiary (spouse, kids, etc.). Most of the time this is true, yet we also get a fair share of people having to file a probate for an IRA or having to request the court to allow someone to set up a special needs…
The California Department of Health Care Services recently announced new Medi-Cal resource numbers for 2021. In All County Welfare Directors Letter (ACWDL) 20-27 the Community Spouse Resource Allowance (CSRA) was increased to $130,380 and the Minimum Monthly Maintenance Needs Allowance (MMMNA) was increased to $3,260 for 2021. The CSRA is the amount of non-exempt assets that the spouse of a Medi-Cal applicant…
You may or may not already have your estate planned for when you die, but did you know that you can also make gifting your assets while you are alive a part of your estate plan? Most people are aware that you, as an individual, can gift up to $15,000 per year to any other individual without having to report…
Estate planning is not just for seniors. Ideally, as soon as you turn eighteen you should have some version of an estate plan because your parents are no longer automatically able to make decisions or act on your behalf. There are several reasons to create a power of attorney for finances once you turn eighteen. For example, the military helps…
If Proposition 19 is passed, does that mean I have to make changes to my estate planning documents? Listen to this short interview with Dayna Wilson of Keller Williams Real Estate and Kirsten Howe of Absolute Trust Counsel to find out. [Ad] Calling all neighbors in the Walnut Creek area and beyond! At Absolute Trust Counsel, we understand how unique…
The passage of the U.S. Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2014 (ABLE) enabled millions of disabled Americans to save money without losing means-based benefits, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medi-Cal. Currently, anyone with more than $2,000 in countable assets is ineligible for most means-based programs. Prior to ABLE, it was impossible to save funds for larger…