How to fit Cryptocurrency into your Estate Planning

What is Cryptocurrency?

By now, you have most likely heard of Bitcoin, a term that is often used synonymously with cryptocurrency. While there are many forms of cryptocurrency, it is generally a digital currency, with a unique feature whereby ownership records are stored in blockchains, a type of encrypted storage. While cryptocurrency shares some features of currency, it is not a traditional currency. They are not regularly issued by a central government authority. That is why you may have heard of them referred to as decentralized currencies. A few countries, including El Salvador, have even gone as far as tying cryptocurrency into their own economy – more formally.

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California Advocacy Groups Demand Reform of Conservatorships

Conservatorships in California have recently been met by multiple advocacy groups and individual attorneys fighting for the rights of conservatees. California advocacy groups in 2022 are demanding reform of the state’s conservatorship systems. These California advocacy groups want to see a move toward higher-quality protections and less-restrictive options. Some conservatorships can be very restrictive, even having the potential to restrict the civil rights of those who are in need of care. As light continues to shine on this subject, California lawmakers are beginning to discuss avenues for a better future for conservatees.

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The Shrinking Gift Tax Exemption: Going, Going, Gone!

Now that the year 2021 is quickly becoming a distant memory, it is time to write or update your financial plan for 2022. One of the important elements of the plan is the gifts that you are going to give to family, friends and non-profits. We will discuss the basic rules of taxes on gifts and will be happy to address any complex scenarios that you may run into. These rules are likely to change for the worse, by 2025 at the latest. Continue reading for more details.

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Your Parents’ Estate Plan and How it Impacts You

Impact on Workload

There are several ways in which your parents, or indeed, any family member’s estate plan impacts you. First, you may be asked to play an active role in the processing of the estate, and that may or may not have been directly communicated to you. You could be the executor of the estate or hold your parents’ power of attorney and would need to know their intentions. Things you should be able to address are:

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4 Ways to Avoid the Estate Tax for High Net Worth Families

Many high net worth individuals have worked very hard to accumulate wealth and build something of value that they can pass on to their families once they are gone. However, their heirs may be faced with exorbitant tax bills associated with this transfer of wealth when the time comes.

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5 Tips to Avoid Probate

It may be a difficult subject to navigate, but when it comes to estate planning, there are certain steps you should take now to avoid probate. Probate—the court proceedings that transfer ownership of an estate from the decedent to their benefactors upon death—is a timely and costly process that can take a toll on grieving families. Probate can also be incredibly confusing and take months or years to sort out. And because it is a court proceeding, it becomes public record. The good news is, depending on your assets, there are several things you can do to avoid probate proceedings. Here are five ways to avoid it in California:

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How the Proposed Tax Increase Reform May Affect You

woman doing taxes

During the week of September 12th this year, news began circulating of President Biden’s proposed tax increase to offset up to $3.5 trillion that they plan to spend on the social safety net and climate policy. While it is still in the initial proposal stages, if passed, this tax increase would affect top corporations and wealthy individuals—and thus would also potentially create big changes with things such as estate and gift tax exemptions. This proposed bill would go into effect in 2022. If it sounds familiar that’s because it shares many elements of the 99.5 Percent Act proposed by Senator Bernie Sanders and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse earlier this summer—which proposed many reduced monetary thresholds involving estate and gift federal tax liabilities.  Let’s take a deeper look into the details of this new tax increase proposal and what they might mean for you.

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Understanding How the 99.5% Act Affects You

dollar bill zoomed in

On March 25, 2021, Senator Bernie Sanders and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse introduced the “For the 99.5 Percent Act” (referred to in this blog as the “99.5% Act”), a piece of legislation that would change federal estate and gift taxes. Here are the highlights you need to know:

  • Reduces the federal estate tax exemption from $11.7 million to $3.5 million
  • Reduces the gift tax exemption from $11.7 million to $1 million
  • Tax rates increase for gift, estate, and generation-skipping tax (GST) at a progressive rate

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Post-Election Tax Strategies

man crunching numbers

Now that tax season is wrapping up, we can all take a deep breath. With the pandemic looming over all of us in 2020, change has become the only thing we can consistently count on these days.

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