Estate planning includes all the planning that’s involved for setting up a will, a trust and making sure that your assets go to the people or organizations that you want to have them. Estate planning is complex — you should consider taxes when making plans for your assets to go to your heirs. If you don’t do estate planning you risk having your belongings managed by the state where you live, and your state’s laws may not match exactly what you want. Estate planning is especially important in blended families.
Estate Planning: Joint Tenant Ownership Of Parent’s Home, Or Will Estate Later?
Should you add your name to your parent's house as a joint tenant or whether the home should be provided for in the will as part of your parent's estate planning? Ilyce explains what would happen if you became a joint tenant, such as whether the IRS would levy a gift tax, as the make estate planning decisions. Ilyce outlines several options as far as estate planning, joint tenant ownership, and whether you should purchase the home from your parent and apply for your own mortgage.
Not Easy To Sell Timeshares From Estate
An estate includes various timeshares. Unfortunately, there aren't any good ways to get rid of timeshares. You can go to the timeshare and try to find other owners of timeshares of the property who might be interested in purchasing yours.
Property Tax Refund Depends On Local Laws
Can you get a refund of property taxes if you overpaid due to your home being misclassified by your locality? It depends on where you live and how long it's been between your overpayment and when you bring it to the county's attention. Even if you can't get a refund of property taxes it may be some solace that you know you'll pay the correct amount going forward.
Self Directed IRAs And Real Estate Investment
Real estate IRAs let you use IRA cash to invest in real estate. With stock market returns down, there's been a surge of interest concerning using IRAs to invest in real estate. Some self-directed IRA accounts give the flexibility to invest in real estate.
Avoid Gift Tax When Receiving Property
When receiving property from family members, not through inheritance, make sure you are careful to structure the arrangement to avoid triggering the gift tax. One way to structure the deal would be to "purchase" the house. You purchase the house from her and she acts as the bank and finances 100 percent of the purchase. You would then pay her as if she were your mortgage lender (which she would be).
How To Find Estate Planning Attorney
To protect yourself and your family it's critical to do estate planning with the help of an attorney. Learn what's included in a comprehensive estate plan and how you can find an estate planning attorney, especially if you live in Chicago. Estate planning includes not only a will but also powers of attorney and a living will.
Funeral Resources On The Internet
When you're planning a funeral you may not know where to begin. Learn about some of the organizations who can help you plan a funeral and how to find them.
Buying And Selling In Scary Times
We live in scary times, and the fear factor is starting to have an effect on what up until now had been the strongest part of the economy - the housing market. Interest rates are at their lowest levels in more than 30 years. The first half of the year set new records for home sale activity. But the fear factor, driven by an undercurrent of recession and ignited by the terrorist attacks on September 11th, has caused many home buyers and sellers to pull back and wait until things settle down.
Millionaire CFA Study
A new study from the Consumer Federation of America and Providian Financial shows that millionaires tend to be older, have graduate or professional degrees and earn more than $100,000 per year. All that isn't so surprising, but what is interesting is that the average American is doing a pretty good job of building assets, even with incomes as low as $10,000 per year.
Gift Taxes Associated With Real Estate Inheritance
What are the gift taxes associated with real estate inheritance? The person who is giving the land should think about the gift taxes that may be incurred if the real estate is given as an inheritance. Ilyce suggests a conversation about the current owner's wishes and a meeting with an estate attorney before accepting a real estate inheritance and the gift taxes associated with it.