Category: Advisors

The last issue of The Wealth Counselor examined trusts and the asset protection benefits provided to trust makers and their beneficiaries through the utilization of ongoing trusts. This issue of The Wealth Counselor addresses related and important questions about the taxation of trusts, which are important to all wealth planning professionals. Trusts are Separate TaxpayersAll...

Policy Reviews of Trust Owned Life Insurance (TOLI) - Why you should make it part of your standard estate planning process This issue of The Wealth Counselor explores many of the common misperceptions about trust owned life insurance - plus a process for you to add significant value for your clients by incorporating policy reviews...

The 2000 census counted nearly 5.5 million U.S. unmarried couples sharing the same household, almost 8 times the number counted in 1970 and nearly 10% of the 60 million U.S. couple households counted. Of these, many are widows and widowers who choose not to marry for various reasons, and approximately 1% of these unmarried couples...

Planning for tax-qualified plans, which includes IRAs, 401(k)s and qualified retirement plans, requires a careful examination of the potential taxes that impact these assets. Unlike most other assets that receive a "basis step-up" to current fair market value upon the owner's death, IRAs, 401(k)s and other qualified retirement plans do not step-up to the date-of-death...

No one likes to think about the possibility of their own disability or the disability of a loved one. However, as we'll see below, the statistics are clear that we should all plan for at least a temporary disability. This issue of The Wealth Counselor examines the eye-opening statistics surrounding disability and some of the...

For many clients, pets are members of the family. These clients often say that if something happens to them, they are more concerned with what will happen to their pets than to their children or spouse. This issue of The Wealth Counselor examines the issues surrounding caring for pets after the disability or death of...

Before 2007, a non-spouse beneficiary of a qualified plan was stuck taking distributions under the terms of the plan, which typically required full distribution within five or fewer years of the participant's death. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA 2006) authorized non-spouse beneficiaries (before it was only surviving spouses) to roll over to an...

This month's issue of The Wealth Counselor addresses a topic that many professionals do not understand fully, life settlements. For the right clients, a life settlement offers a significant advantage over the alternatives - and one that the client and the planning team should at least consider. Life Settlements - The BasicsThe secondary market for...

This issue of The Wealth Counselor examines exciting new developments in business succession planning - specifically, the use of LLCs or partnerships to own life insurance for buy-sell planning purposes. Such a structure obtains the advantages of cross-purchase and stock redemption buy-sell agreements without many of the disadvantages of either traditional structure. This development is...

Whether your client is a parent with future educational obligations for young ones, or perhaps a loving aunt, uncle, grandparent, or stepparent, now more than ever 529 plans are an attractive tool for the escalating costs of education, as well as for income and estate planning purposes. This is because one of the hidden gems...

This month's issue of The Wealth Counselor examines the unique planning requirements of families with children, grandchildren or other family members (such as parents) with special needs. There are many misconceptions in this area that result in costly mistakes in planning for these special needs beneficiaries. It is therefore incumbent upon us - the client's...

The difference between the highest and lowest federal income tax rates is currently 35%. As a result, proactive income tax planning is important for many clients, and it is therefore important to all wealth planning professionals. This issue of The Wealth Counselor examines basic income tax rules as well as the useful strategies to defer...