Insights: Estate Planning Services
Maximizing Tax Savings Through Effective Estate Planning
By: Layne Blasingim, CPA Estate planning isn’t just about figuring out who receives your assets when you pass; it’s also a strategic approach to minimize possible tax liabilities. With careful planning, individuals can ensure that their hard-earned wealth goes to their intended heirs rather than paid out in taxes. Savvy estate planning can use a…
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Planning for Elder Care
By: Layne Blasingim, CPA What is it? When planning for elder care you must focus on the quality of life the older individual wants to have. Acute and long-term care, surrogate decision-making plans in the event of incapacity, housing and preserving the assets of a loved one are all items that must be planned for.…
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Estate Planning for Digital Assets
By: Layne Blasingim, CPA Are you a cryptocurrency investor or an NFT collector? Have you considered how your digital assets, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and NFTs, will be managed and/or transferred in the event of your passing? Thinking of cryptocurrency and digital assets is an essential step in estate planning for the 21st century. Here’s…
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Inheriting stock or other assets? You’ll receive a favorable “stepped-up basis”
If you’re planning your estate, or you’ve recently inherited assets, you may be unsure of the “cost” (or “basis”) for tax purposes. How do the rules work? Under the current fair market value basis rules (also known as the “step-up and step-down” rules), an heir receives a basis in inherited property equal to its date-of-death…
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Planning for Elder Care
By: Layne Blasingim, CPA What is it? When planning for elder care you must focus on the quality of life the older individual wants to have. Acute and long-term care, surrogate decision-making plans in the event of incapacity, housing and preserving the assets of a loved one are all items that must be planned for.…
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Portability and What is it?
Portability is the term used for the Deceased Spouse Unused Exclusion (DSUE). This election allows for any unused lifetime estate and gift exclusion to be transferred over to the surviving spouse. The lifetime estate and gift exclusion allows for gifts and estates to be transferred to another party tax free. The lifetime exclusion is…
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What Gifts Are Subject to the Gift Tax
By: Layne Blasingim The gift tax is an area of taxation that many taxpayers may not be aware of including the related filing requirements. Though there is an annual exclusion, gift splitting and a large lifetime exclusion, taxpayers should be aware of the possible gifts that could cause filing requirements and possible tax liabilities. …
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Secure Act 2.0 Updates Retirement Plans Starting in 2023
The new Secure Act 2.0 legislation expands upon the Secure Act of 2019 with updates to retirement savings plans across the country. Here’s what you need to know. Automatic Enrollment Requirements Plan sponsors of 401(k) and 403(b) plans will be required to automatically enroll eligible employees with a starting contribution of 3% of their…
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Does Your Family Business’s Succession Plan Include Estate Planning Strategies?
Family-owned businesses (both large and small) face distinctive challenges when it comes to succession planning. For example, it’s important to address the distinction between ownership succession and management succession. When a nonfamily business is sold to a third party, ownership and management succession typically happen simultaneously. However, in the context of a family business, there…
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Probate and How to Avoid it
By: Layne Blasingim, CPA & Elaine Daugherty, CPA What is it? Probate is the formal legal process that recognizes a will (if one exists) and appoints a representative/administrator/executor to distribute assets to all intended beneficiaries and creditors. Some states require a “formal” probate where an estate is settled under the supervision of a court. “Formal”…
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