Avoid Probate

If you want to provide for a loved one who is disabled or has special needs when you are no longer here, care must be taken to ensure that the inheritance you leave will help rather than harm your loved one. An inheritance received outright could negatively impact your loved one if he or she is currently receiving government aid or benefits or will need to apply for aid in the future.

Government benefits for individuals with mental or physical disabilities, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Medicaid, are need-based. To receive these benefits, an individual must pass a means test to ensure that the individual does not have adequate money or property that could be used to pay for care, such as nursing home costs, in-home care, medical equipment, therapy, or other necessities for proper care and living expenses. Suppose an individual with a disability or special need has too many resources, including property, money, or income.
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One of the most common forms of property ownership in the United States is joint tenancy with rights of survivorship (JTWROS or joint tenancy). But what is joint tenancy? Joint tenancy is a legal right to property that provides the owner an undivided right to the enjoyment of the property. In other words, one joint tenant cannot legally stop the other joint tenant from enjoying use of the entire property. The “WROS” part of JTWROS means that when one joint tenant dies, the deceased joint tenant’s share of the property automatically passes to the other joint tenant without the need for probate or other formal proceedings.

This survivorship feature of joint tenancy makes it very attractive to married couples and individuals who want to jointly own property with another person (like an adult child) without additional estate planning documents or sending their joint owner through the time-consuming and costly probate process.
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You just found out that your favorite aunt, Aunt Melba, has died. In the midst of your grief and sadness, you receive a notice from the attorney handling Aunt Melba's affairs stating that you are a beneficiary. Your best friend advises you to get an attorney. What should you do? Will Aunt Melba's attorney help you? After all, Aunt Melba's attorney has been helping your family for years. Since this attorney knows Melba and the family affairs, shouldn't her attorney be able to help you as well?

That answer depends on the circumstances.
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As the world becomes more of a global community, it is no longer uncommon for married couples to maintain different citizenships. While a difference in citizenship alone can present complexities from an everyday tax perspective, another set of challenges arises when a noncitizen spouse separates from the US spouse, returns to live in the noncitizen spouse’s home country, and then passes away. What are some of the issues you need to be aware of?

Choice of Law

One of the first questions that must be answered is which country’s laws will apply with respect to inheritance, division of property, child custody, and taxation. Depending on the noncitizen spouse’s country of residence at death, there can be very different legal consequences for owning property at death. Some countries have treaties with the United States that attempt to bring clarity to tax liability issues and division of property at the death of an individual who is married to a noncitizen.
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Can Dual Citizenship Ruin Your Estate Plan?

In early 2020, married actors Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson became honorary citizens of Greece.  The president of Greece bestowed this honor upon them due in large part to their humanitarian work in the country after a deadly wildfire swept through Athens in 2018. Hanks and Wilson spend considerable time in Greece as it is one of their favorite spots for extended vacations, so when this honor was offered to them, they graciously accepted. Although neither of them gave up their US citizenship, there will nevertheless be important estate planning considerations that Hanks and Wilson must address.

Any US citizen with dual citizenship must be prepared to carefully consider a variety of complex legal issues when planning for death.
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Misconceptions about who needs an estate plan abound. Most people believe that estate planning is only for extremely wealthy business moguls or celebrities. But that could not be further from the truth. Estate planning is the process of making decisions about what happens to you, your money, and your property when you pass away or can no longer make decisions for yourself. Thus, estate planning should be standard practice for every adult age eighteen or older.
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The death of an iconic figure can sometimes impact us deeply because it reminds us of our shared humanity. With a celebrity’s passing, we realize that death is an equalizer. It also reminds us of the importance of estate planning to protect a person's money and property. Estate planning is not reserved for those with large amounts of wealth or larger-than-life personalities. Life’s difficulties challenge all of us regardless of our relative fame or obscurity.
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For decades, common financial planning wisdom has encouraged almost all American workers to maximize their contributions to qualified retirement accounts. Indeed, doing so can be a powerful way to reduce your current income tax liability, grow your savings exponentially tax-free, and, in most states, protect your savings from claims of creditors. And by and large, this is what most American workers have done.

The result is that Americans have gradually amassed huge amounts of wealth in these types of qualified plans. It is increasingly common for an IRA or 401k to be the highest value item of property that an American owns.
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Making plans for your money and property after you pass away is not the most exciting thing to do. It involves thinking about situations that may cause feelings of fear and uncertainty. Nevertheless, it is essential to face those decisions head-on. You must determine what people, things, and values matter most to you. A critical decision in this process is deciding whom to appoint as trustee—the person or entity charged with managing, investing, and handing out the money and property owned by the trust.
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The mortgage business is booming in many parts of the country. Historically low interest rates have created an almost frenzied environment with homeowners scrambling to refinance their home loans at these low interest rates. Even a few tenths of a percentage point of interest, over thirty years, can make a massive difference in the amount of interest that is ultimately paid on a loan. For many, it makes perfect sense to take advantage of these interest rates. Besides the associated transaction fees of refinancing, there is frequently little to no downside to refinancing in times like these.
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In sports, success frequently brings significant monetary compensation. While this is a dream come true for most individuals, it is important to take the right steps to safeguard this hard-earned money. Most people assume that the biggest challenge is spending beyond one’s means. While this can cause many problems, it is not the only issue that athletes need to be aware of and plan for.

Your Off-Court or Off-Field Penalty: Taxes

There are several types of taxes that may impact you as an athlete if you play in the United States.
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