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I’m Not Writing About Pending Estate Tax Legislation
I keep seeing stories about various estate tax reform bills that have been introduced in Congress. They range from repealing it, to extending the exemption, to raising the exemption to lowering it, etc. I’m not going to waste time and effort reading the various bills …
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Oasis of the Seas
Ok, this has nothing at all to do with estate planning. But after yesterday’s rant, I thought I’d post something a little different. The Oasis of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship arrived in Fort Lauderdale Today. Here are a few picture of it …
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The Wall Street Journal Totally Blows it on Online Wills
I can’t believe it. I have long admired the Wall Street Journal and considered them a paragon of straightforward and relatively high level journalism. Sure the editorial page leans conservative, and there has always been a general pro-corporate tinge to its stories. But I’ve always …
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Should you convert to a Roth IRA next year? I say YES. Convert first, and THEN decide later.
I’m sure a lot of you are reading the headline above and thinking "Say wha?" Let’s back up. There are (generally) two types of IRAs, which stands for Individual Retirement Arrangements (Yes, "Arrangements" and not "Accounts." Look it up). There is the "Traditional" IRA and …
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WSJ: Is There a Trap Lurking in the Language of your Will?
In today’s (October 15, 2009) Wall Street Journal, there is an article entitled "Is There a Trap Lurking in the Language of your Will?" written by reporter Laura Sanders. The article correctly points out that many semi-wealthy couples may have a serious problem in their …
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IRS Announces Web Based Retirement Plan Navigator
The IRS has created what it calls a "new Web-based tool to help small business owners determine which tax-favored pension plan bests suits their needs and how to keep their plans in compliance." The IRS Retirement Plan Navigator has links to "Choose a Plan," "Maintain a …
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Bankrate.com’s 2009 Estate Planning Guide
I’m not sure how recent this is (I think that some if it is fairly new), but I have just come upon Bankrate.com‘s 2009 Estate Planning Guide. It is broken down into four chapters, with an example of an article from each chapter in parenthesis: …
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More on Estate of Max Feinberg
In my last post, I wrote about the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling in the Estate of Max Feinberg, which, at least in effect, upheld a trust clause that disinherited Max Feinberg’s grandchildren if they married a person outside of the Jewish religion. At least that’s …
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Illinois Supreme Court Upholds the “Jewish Clause” (but in a roundabout way)
The Illinois Supreme Court ruled today in the Estate of Max Feinberg, Even though I’m not an Illinois attorney (which means the case does not directly apply to me), I find it very interesting both as a Trusts and Estates attorney and as a Jew. …
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From The Hill: Debate over Estate Tax Likely to Wait
No surprise here. With its "busy fall agenda" the debate over the estate tax is likely to wait. It’s not like they haven’t known of this upcoming problem for the past 9 years or so. A split among Democrats and a busy fall agenda is …
