IRAs, 401(k)s and other tax-deferred retirement accounts allow your savings to grow tax-free until you retire. The year after you become age 70 ½, you must begin taking required minimum distributions from your retirement accounts, and you will pay ordinary income taxes on all distributions. The rest of the money that stays in your account continues to grow tax-free until…
This is another installment in our very occasional series on estate planning lessons learned from celebrities. The actress Nichelle Nichols, 85, who is most famous for portraying Lieutenant Uhura on the original “Star Trek,” is currently the subject of a conservatorship battle pending in Los Angeles Superior Court. Ms. Nichols’ son, Kyle Johnson, filed the petition for conservatorship in May…
There are several kinds of disability income benefits available to a worker who becomes unable to work due to an injury or illness. This article focuses on private disability insurance policies or plans provided by employers that are governed by a federal law known as the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). Applying for long-term disability benefits under…
One of the things we do at Absolute Trust Counsel is assist families with a disabled senior to preserve assets and also become eligible for Medi-Cal assistance to help them pay for nursing home care. One of the tools we often use to do this type of planning is an irrevocable trust. We also sometimes have to help families who…
I recently attended the Special Needs Planning Symposium. The sessions were all very informative, but it was the opening session that really stands out for me, ‘Proactive and Next Generation Planning for Families That Include a Loved One with Disabilities.’ The panel of presenters in the session really brought to light how important it is to consider the needs of…
In our last post we began a discussion of the various roles that must be filled in the planning and administration of a SNT, contrasting that with a conventional estate planning trust. Here we will continue discussing the roles that must be filled in the planning of a SNT. As we’ve mentioned before, a unique feature of most SNTs is…
