720-730-7274
I get asked the question above on an almost weekly basis. The short answer is that if you put your assets into a trust, you still get taxed. A trust is not a magical way to avoid all taxes on assets, despite persistent myths to the contrary. A trust can help to minimize taxes, but not eliminate taxes completely. The IRS publishes a list of … [Read more...]
Estate Planning 101: The Four Methods of Transfer & Who Gets What
I am amazed at how often people want a will written to make sure their assets go where they want when they die, but have never considered what other methods of transferring assets exist. And...what different types of asset transfer options are available to use. These people want me to write a will to make sure assets go where the individual … [Read more...]
How to Determine Mental Capacity for a Will or Estate Plan
Your mind matters! I often have people I meet who feel the need to apologize to me for not having created an estate plan before they met with me. Many times this comes from an older couple who realized that they should have planned sooner. I think I addressed that attitude in my last blog about putting things off until tomorrow, but I often … [Read more...]
I’ll Get To It Tomorrow
As a child, I watched the movie “Annie” where the little orphan Annie sings the lines: “Tomorrow, tomorrow. I love ya, tomorrow. You’re always a day away.” Annie is singing about how the sun will come out tomorrow, and that she will have brighter prospects for her life in the orphanage because of the sunny day that will come. However, she … [Read more...]
So, You Didn’t Have a Will? Now What?
Let me start this blog by being very upfront: I do not handle probate cases, and I don’t represent anyone in probate. However, I must know about the probate rules, and what happens in the probate process since I work to either minimize what goes through probate, or to make the probate process easier on those who stand to inherit property after … [Read more...]
