The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) doubled the lifetime estate and gift tax exemptions, increasing them to $11.18 million for individuals and $22.36 million for couples, with continued increases after 2018. Currently, the exemptions stand at $12.9…
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A critical piece of proper estate planning is making sure you have power of attorney designations for both your financial and health care matters. These documents ensure that someone you name is in control of your financial affairs when needed and ha…
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What makes you tremble when you think about estate planning? On this Halloween day, I thought I’d let you in on a few of the estate planning fears people have shared with me over the years: If I plan for death, I will die. This is a very real fear…
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The word “estate” usually conjures images of older, high-net-worth individuals with small dogs and grandiose homes. So, estate planning is only for people like that, right? In reality, estate planning is for every adult, regardless of age or net…
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I’m occasionally asked if an individual can create or update an estate plan if a doctor has opined that the individual can no longer make sound decisions or the individual has a court-appointed guardian or conservator. The short answer: It depends.…
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A recent Michigan Court of Appeals decision has served as a reminder that when it comes to interpreting a trust, clear language regarding your intentions can go a long way in resolving potential disputes and making sure your wishes are fulfilled. In…
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After Aretha Franklin’s death in 2018, two wills were found in her home. Both were handwritten by Franklin and neither was drafted by an attorney. A judge recently determined that a jury could decide whether the 2014 document that was found in a no…
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Amidst commencements and graduation parties, an item that does not appear on most parents’ summer checklists for their graduate is a visit to the attorney’s office. Upon turning 18 years old, a child is considered an adult for most purposes. Alth…
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As poet Geoffrey Chaucer attested centuries ago, “Time and tide wait for no man.” For the second time in as many years, survivors have turned to me for help when a loved one died unexpectedly, leaving behind wills or trusts that no longer reflect…
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Most of our financial information, social interactions, and family sentiments are in some form of digital storage. These are commonly called “digital assets.” More and more of our lives are no longer in tangible form. What happens to all this inf…
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