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Estate Planning
Estate Planning Resources
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If you're drafting a will for the first time or need to revise any documents of your estate, choose the experts at Gordon J. Maier & Company, LLP to handle all your estate planning work.
Articles
- Assets
- Asset protection in estate planning
- Estate planning and 529 plans
- Transferring your family business
- Beneficiary designations
- Choosing a beneficiary for your IRA or 401(k)
- Designating a beneficiary for life insurance
- Charitable giving
- Charitable giving
- Life insurance and charitable giving
- Estate planning basics
- Estate planning--an introduction
- Facing the possibility of incapacity
- Gift and estate taxes
- Trust basics
- Wills--the cornerstone of your estate plan
- Life insurance
- Life insurance and estate planning
- Life insurance and terminal illness
- Life insurance: do you need it?
- Planning ahead for life insurance proceeds
- The ins and outs of policy ownership
- Medicaid planning
- Medicaid and nursing home care
- Medicaid and the principal residence
- Medicaid planning basics
- Probate
- The probate process: 3 to 9 months after death
- The probate process: 9 to 12 months after death
- The probate process: initial tasks
- Types of post-mortem elections
- Trusts
- Advantages of trusts
- How a grantor retained income trust (GRIT) works
- How an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) works
- How an irrevocable trust protects assets
Decision Tools
- Business planning
- Business life insurance needs
- Business succession planning alternatives
- Choosing a business entity
- How cross purchase plans work
- How entity purchase plans work
- Number of policies needed with a cross purchase plan
- Planning for succession of a business interest
- Charitable giving
- How a charitable lead trust works
- How a charitable remainder trust works
- The best property to give to charity
- Estate planning basics
- 529 Plan Federal estate tax calculator
- 529 Plan Federal estate tax calculator - (Consumer Version)
- Common incapacity documents
- Estate shrinkage
- Federal estate tax estimator
- Federal transfer tax exemption amounts under the Tax Act of 2001
- Steps to estate planning success
- Table of federal estate tax brackets and exemption limits
- Life insurance
- Life insurance needs analyzer
- Probate
- The probate process: 3 to 9 months after death
- The probate process: 9 to 12 months after death
- The probate process: initial tasks
- Types of post-mortem elections
- Trusts
- Advantages of trusts
- How a grantor retained income trust (GRIT) works
- How an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) works
- How an irrevocable trust protects assets
FAQs
- Estate and gift tax
- How can I determine what my business is worth for estate and gift tax purposes?
- How can I minimize taxes on my estate?
- How will estate taxes be paid if I leave no provision in my will?
- I intend to make tuition payments directly to my grandchild's college, and I know this will reduce my estate. But would it be better to contribute to a 529 plan instead?
- I just made a gift. Do I have to file a gift tax return?
- If I am the account owner when I die, will the value of my 529 account be included in my estate?
- The death benefit from insurance on my life will be paid to an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT). What if those funds are needed to pay my estate taxes?
- What is a family limited partnership, and will it help reduce estate taxes?
- What is the applicable exclusion amount?
- Will the value of my 529 account be included in my estate or my beneficiary's estate?
- Estate planning basics
- How often do I need to review my estate plan?
- Isn't estate planning only for the rich?
- What makes up my taxable estate?
- Life insurance and estate planning
- Are life insurance proceeds income taxable?
- The death benefit from insurance on my life will be paid to an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT). What if those funds are needed to pay my estate taxes?
- What is a life insurance trust and why should I consider establishing one?
- When I die, is my beneficiary required to take a lump-sum payment of my life insurance death benefit?
- Will my beneficiaries have to pay taxes on the proceeds of my life insurance policy?
- Planning for incapacity
- What is an advanced directive for health care, and will it help me avoid court involvement during incapacity?
- What is the difference between a power of attorney and a durable power of attorney?
- Probate
- Does property owned jointly avoid probate?
- What is probate and why do I want to avoid it?
- Trusts
- Can an UGMA/UTMA account reduce my child's financial aid for college?
- Should I establish a trust for my child's college education fund?
- What is a Crummey power?
- What is a life insurance trust and why should I consider establishing one?
- What is a living trust?
- Wills
- Can I disinherit relatives I don't like?
- Can I transfer my business through my will?
- Do I have to accept a bequest I don't want?
- Do I need an attorney to prepare my will?
- How will estate taxes be paid if I leave no provision in my will?
- I want my son to have my valuable collection of baseball cards when I die. How do I make sure he gets it?
- What is the difference between a living will and a living trust?
- What will happen if I die without a will?
- Who should I name as guardian of my children in case my spouse and I should die at the same time?
- Who should I name as trustee?
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