Estate

Effective estate management enables you to manage your affairs during your lifetime and control the distribution of your wealth after death. An effective estate strategy can spell out your healthcare wishes and ensure that they're carried out – even if you are unable to communicate. It can even designate someone to manage your financial affairs should you be unable to do so.

A Brief History of Estate Taxes

Federal estate taxes have long since been a lucrative source of funding for the federal government.

A Living Trust Primer

Living trusts are popular, but their appropriateness will depend upon your individual needs and objectives.

How Often Should You Update Your Estate Strategy?

Review your legacy approach regularly, particularly following significant life events or legislative updates.

• Articles

  Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs)

  Explaining Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs) and their benefit to estate strategy.

  Understanding the Alternate Valuation Date

  Executors can value the estate on the date of death, or on its six-month anniversary —the “Alternate Valuation Date."

  A Living Trust Primer

  Living trusts are popular, but their appropriateness will depend upon your individual needs and objectives.

  Will Power

  Preparing for the eventual distribution of your assets may not sound enticing. But a will puts the power in your hands.

  Yours, Mine, and Ours: Estate Strategies for Second Marriage

  Second marriages are a trigger event to revisit any existing estate strategies.

  Intellectual Property Rocks in a New Digital Era

  Intellectual property ownership and its implications for ordinary people and estates.

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• Calculators

  Comparing Mortgage Terms

  Compare different mortgage term lengths side by side to find the option that fits your budget.

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