A Rochester asset protection attorney can provide assistance with making a plan to pass assets onto your loved ones after you pass away. It is important that you make the right plans to facilitate the timely and effective transfer of wealth. If you do not use the right legal tools, your assets could be lost and your loved ones' inheritance could be reduced. It is also vital to make sure that your loved ones know exactly where your assets are that you hope to pass down after you pass … [Read more...] about Why It’s Important for Your Family to Know Where Your Assets Are
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Basics of Estate Planning: Lack of Coordination
Blog Author: Stephen C. Hartnett, J.D., LL.M. (Tax), Director of Education, American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc. This is another in a series of blogs on the basics of estate planning. Perhaps the most common mistake in estate planning is a lack of coordination. This is not where the client, attorney, or advisor cannot walk and chew gum at the same time. This is a failure to consider all the different aspects of a plan and how they may (or may not) work together. An … [Read more...] about Basics of Estate Planning: Lack of Coordination
Basics of Estate Planning: Getting the Most out of Charitable Gifts
Blog Author: Stephen C. Hartnett, J.D., LL.M. (Tax), Director of Education, American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc. This is another in a series of blogs on the basics of estate planning. Often, an individual wants to make a gift to charity. They don’t want something complicated, but they want to get the most bang for their buck. Estate planning attorneys and other financial professionals know the client could just contribute cash to the charity. Certainly, that would be … [Read more...] about Basics of Estate Planning: Getting the Most out of Charitable Gifts
Law in the U.S. can be Participatory
Blog Author: Stephen C. Hartnett, J.D., LL.M. (Tax), Director of Education, American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc. In some countries, like a dictatorship or a true monarchy (not a constitutional monarchy such as the United Kingdom), people do not really participate in making the law. The law is handed down by fiat. In the United States, our laws are enacted by our elected representatives. Sometimes, those laws may be viewed as violating the fundamental rights guaranteed to all … [Read more...] about Law in the U.S. can be Participatory
Basics of Estate Planning: Two Common Mistakes with Trusts
Blog Author: Stephen C. Hartnett, J.D., LL.M. (Tax), Director of Education, American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc. This is another in a series of blogs on the basics of estate planning. Trusts are incredibly useful tools. But, like other useful tools, they do not fit every circumstance. They must be used appropriately. For example, a hammer is an exceptional tool to use when looking to drive a nail into a wall. But, if you hit the nail with a glancing blow, the nail will … [Read more...] about Basics of Estate Planning: Two Common Mistakes with Trusts
