Happy New Year! Some of you may wonder how much you can give this year without having to file a gift tax return and whether you need to do some estate tax planning. Here are the key figures to keep in mind for 2015:
On December 12, 2014, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a regulatory change to ensure that legally married same-sex spouses receive the same rights as opposite-sex spouses in Medicare and Medicaid participating facilities. These rules apply regardless of whether the state where the facility is located recognizes same-sex marriages. CMS is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services. It is responsible for administering the Medicare program and, in partnership with state governments, the Medicaid program.
The nation's elderly and disabled Social Security recipients will receive a 1.7 percent increase in payments in 2015. This increase will raise the average monthly payment for the typical retired worker by $22. The increase is slightly higher than last year’s 1.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). The same COLA will apply to pensions for federal government retirees and to most veterans.
In this day and age, it is not uncommon to remarry after a divorce or the death of a spouse. Often in these remarriages, one or both spouses have children from a prior marriage. These blended families can pose some challenging estate planning issues for the newlyweds. If you die before your new spouse, how do you ensure that both your new spouse and your children from your first marriage receive an inheritance? Who gets the house – your new spouse or your children? How will your new spouse get by financially if you choose to provide an immediate inheritance for your children?
Do you remember the first time one of your parents let you drive the family car? Remember the excitement you felt getting behind the steering wheel, followed quickly by that rush of anxiety as you realized you were accelerating down the road, and the trees appeared to jump out toward the car? Remember the sound of the engine roaring from you pressing too hard on the accelerator, turning quickly into the sound of a neck jolting screech as you attempted to apply the brakes for the first time? During my first lesson, my Dad's quick corrections on the wheel saved several unsuspecting joggers
What responsibilities will I have as an Agent?
The most important thing to remember when you step in as Agent is that the assets you control are not your assets. You are safeguarding them for the principal for whom you are the agent under the power of attorney and for the beneficiaries of the principal’s estate.
Springtime after a long, cold winter means it is time to discard unwanted papers and clutter. As we age, we tend to hold onto things longer and the piles multiply. It is difficult to decide what to discard. Although you may have other reasons for holding onto certain items, in the spirit of spring cleaning, we offer the following guidance on what to keep and what to discard from an estate planning perspective:
