Practical perspectives for contemporary legal challenges.
Your divorce has just been finalized. Now what? Depending on the assets divided, there may be a number of steps that you have to take to implement the terms of your divorce. While your attorney likely provided some guidance upon completion of the divorce, here are 12 steps to consider. Automobile and Homeowner Insurance Automobile …
Continue reading “A 12 Step Checklist of Post-Divorce Considerations”
One traditional estate planning technique that has become increasingly popular in recent months is the Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT). Simply stated, a GRAT is an irrevocable trust where the grantor contributes property to the GRAT and retains the right to receive a percentage of the assets back over a designated period of years; any …
Under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) established by the CARES Act, a borrower is eligible for forgiveness of all or a portion of the principal amount of a loan made in accordance with the PPP if certain conditions are satisfied (“qualifying forgiveness”). While the Internal Revenue Code generally requires a borrower to include the amount …
Continue reading “IRS Announces No Information Returns to be Filed for PPP Loan Forgiveness”
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (“SECURE Act”) established a new in-service distribution known as a qualified birth or adoption distribution (“QBOAD”). Generally, a QBOAD is any distribution of up to $5,000 from an “eligible retirement plan” (other than a defined benefit plan), made to an individual during the one-year …
Continue reading “IRS Guidance on Retirement Plan Qualified Birth or Adoption Distributions”
Many people assume once they are divorced and a Judge has entered an Order that the terms of that Order are binding and never end. Under certain circumstances, this is not true. There are several situations where a judge may modify a “final” divorce order. The modifications that can occur are discussed under Tennessee law, …
Continue reading “Divorce Time Traps: Can I Lose the Rights the Judge Gave Me in my Divorce?”
So you have gone through all of the work to get your estate planning documents finalized, you have had your signing meeting with your attorney, and now it is time to celebrate that you are done, right? In most cases, the answer is not quite yet. There are few items that are often overlooked that are …
Continue reading “Practical Estate Planning Tips That Are Often Overlooked”
Many wealthy individuals are asking that question out of fear that the historically high estate/gift tax exemption of $11,580,000 ($23,160,000 for a married couple), indexed annually for inflation, could be significantly decreased prior to its scheduled “sun-setting” on December 31, 2025 to $5,490,000 (indexed for inflation) if the Democratic party sweeps Congress and the White …
The IRS this week issued Information Release 2020-187 to remind IRA owners and beneficiaries, as well as participants in workplace retirement arrangements, that they have until August 31 to return required minimum distributions (“RMDs”)received earlier this year and, thereby, avoid paying income tax on the distribution in 2020. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security …
The IRS recently granted additional relief for retirement account owners due to Covid-19. Generally, when a person attains age 72 (previously age 70 ½) that person is required to begin taking required minimum distributions (“RMDs”) from their retirement account each year based on their life expectancy. Individuals with inherited IRAs are required to take annual …
After a petition for dissolution of marriage is filed, a common question is what’s next? It seems almost impossible to figure out how to navigate between the actual filing of the paperwork to start the process, to getting to the final decree. Here are the 7 basic steps to keep in mind, which are the …
Continue reading “7 Steps to Obtaining a Divorce in Arizona”