Educational Alerts

In the case In re Estate of Karter Wu (Supreme Court of Queensland, Australia), Mr. Wu created and stored his Last Will and Testament on an iPhone, along with a series of other documents, most of them final farewells. Wu’s… Read More

Compliments of Our Law Firm, Written By: The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys “It’s not fair!”   Parents hear this protest all the time, and it often comes from children who confuse being treated fairly with being treated equally.… Read More

Charitable Planning Ideas  When we reflect on the blessings we have received, often we show our gratitude by our desire to contribute to our community and those less fortunate than ourselves. There are many ways that clients can “give back,”… Read More

On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court ruled in U. S. v. Windsor (“Windsor”) that Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) is unconstitutional as a deprivation of the equal protection of persons that is guaranteed by… Read More

In IR-2013-35 (March 28, 2013), the IRS reminded us that in most cases seniors who turned age 70½ during 2012 need to start taking Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from their IRAs, 401(k)s, and other retirement plans by April 1, 2013.… Read More

Football fans (and others) were shocked on December 1st of last year to learn about the murder of Kasandra Perkins. Perkins had been killed by Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher. Jovan subsequently committed suicide at Arrowhead Stadium in front… Read More

Last month, we let you know that Congress let the United States go off the fiscal cliff, only to come to the rescue in the early morning hours of January 2, 2013, with the passage of the American Taxpayer Relief… Read More

On December 31st, the United States went off the “fiscal cliff.” But, less than twenty-four hours later, Congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (“ATRA”). ATRA makes most of the previous estate tax law permanent. The amount that… Read More

Approximately forty years into their relationship, Edith Windsor and Thera Clara Spyer were married in Canada. Two years into their marriage, Thera passed away. After Thera’s death, Edith paid estate tax of approximately $363,000 to the federal government. The reason… Read More

This month’s alert focuses on the narrowing window to lock-in the current $5.12 million estate and gift tax exemption by gifting prior to year-end. The alert also examines why it may not be possible to wait and do this planning… Read More