The Risks of Bad Advice
The Importance of Beneficiary Designations
The Secret Child
Estate Planning 101: The Five Most Important Clauses for Wills and Trusts
Ruder Ware's Elder Law Team Recognizes National Special Needs Law Month - Part 2
Everything You Need to Know About Beneficiary Designations
The Wonder Years - Rediscovering the Magic of Split Dollar Life Insurance
Lathrop GPM attorneys Allie Itami and Sara Hire will walk through key legal and tax considerations that arise when retirement accounts grow beyond personal retirement needs. From alternative investments to estate tax...more
In this episode of Trust Us, Danielle Friedman, Herb Fineburg, and Max McCauley tackle the pitfalls of common estate planning advice, highlighting the risks of adding children to bank accounts or deeds purely for convenience....more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the SECURE Act), was originally signed into law on December 20, 2019. Intended to assist and encourage Americans in saving and investing for retirement,...more
As the end of 2024 draws near, it’s a great time to review your finances and prepare for a prosperous new year. Whether you’re cozying up by the fire or decorating with family, a little year-end financial planning can help...more
Did you know that as soon as your child turns 18, you lose automatic access to their health, school, and financial information? When a child turns 18 and becomes a legal adult, it’s a momentous occasion—filled with...more
Many people fear the word probate, and it is not without reason. Probate can be a tedious, expensive and lengthy process, where you are at the whim of the court’s timeline. But what is probate? Probate is when you must...more
Presented by Whitney Patience O'Reilly on February 16, 2021. Too often, when planning an estate, individuals and families overlook some key provisions that will better protect their families and their wishes. In this...more
Ruder Ware’s Trusts & Estates blog has featured several posts (for example, Call to Action: Review Your Estate Plan in Light of the SECURE Act and Why SECURE Act Matters to You) on the SECURE Act, a federal law effective...more
Too often, when planning an estate, individuals and families overlook some key provisions that will better protect their families and their wishes. In this webinar, Whitney O’Reilly will cover the basics of a good estate plan...more
Don’t overlook foreign assets when planning your estate - You’d be surprised how often people fail to disclose foreign assets to their estate planning advisors. They assume that these assets aren’t relevant to their “U.S.”...more
This is a surrealistic time for most of us, but we will come out on the “other side” and we still need to plan for the future. We should continue to take at least basic steps to plan our estates, like preparing wills and/or...more
With the coronavirus pandemic, many people have asked, “what happens if I die without an estate plan?” Without a properly prepared estate plan, California does your planning for you. ...more
Yes, sometimes your estate plan can be changed AFTER you die to alter bequests made in Wills and Revocable Trusts. (For ease, “will” is used throughout this article.) This is done to change ownership of assets and/or to...more
We hope this newsletter finds you and your loved ones safe and healthy. We previously noted that the coronavirus "lock down" is causing many of our clients to re-think their existing estate plans. In the past, certain estate...more
We’re reaching out to you, our clients, colleagues, and friends, to share some of the rapidly developing matters affecting estate and tax planning that are demanding our attention and action at this extraordinary time of the...more
The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has given reason for us to not only make sure our estate plans reflect current wishes, but also to seek potential opportunities for smart tax planning. In the words of Albert Einstein,...more
Under the SECURE act, which was passed by Congress just before Christmas, the new starting age to take Required Minimum Distributions (“RMD’s”) from tax-deferred retirement accounts (exs. an IRA, a 401(k), hereinafter “IRAs”...more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act was made a part of the appropriations bill late in 2019 and was signed into law on December 20, 2019....more
The current year sees us coming off a good year in the stock market and an economy that is strong. However, in November there is another presidential election cycle, which could bring change to which political party controls...more
Effective January 1, 2020, the rules regarding distributions from inherited retirement accounts have changed significantly. Under prior law, a so-called “designated beneficiary” of a retirement account could receive...more
The ‘Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement’ Act (the “SECURE Act”) was signed into law on December 20, 2019 and became effective January 1, 2020....more
Both workers and retirees may need to rethink some of their estate planning in light of the newest spending bill. The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, part of the massive bill, makes major...more
On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed into law the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act). The SECURE Act substantially changes the law applicable to IRAs and other retirement vehicles....more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (the SECURE Act) was signed into U.S. law on December 20, 2019. The SECURE Act makes significant changes to the administration of IRAs and other tax-deferred...more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (or SECURE Act), signed into law on December 20, 2019, changes retirement planning significantly and unexpectedly. The bulk of the changes become effective as of...more