09 December

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Get the Most Out of Maryland’s MOLST Form

If you live in Maryland and have a life care plan, you may have heard of something known as a “MOLST” form. If you’ve never heard of this form, have no worries. We’re going to explain exactly what this form is and how to utilize it in your estate plan. What is a MOLST Form? MOLST stands for Maryland Order for Life Sustaining Treatment. A MOLST form signifies written medical orders by a physician or nurse practitioner regarding life-sustaining treatments, according to Miemss.org. The objective is for the MOLST form to be a portable and enduring medical order form that increases the likelihood that your wishes to receive, or decline, certain types of medical care will be honored. Keep in mind two things: (1) a MOLST form is NOT an Advance Medical Directive and (2) it is NOT a form prepared by an individual in the normal course of events,...

26 November

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Tax Benefits for Husband and Wife Owned Businesses

Posted by Bobby Feisee

in Bobby's Blog

If you’re looking to diversify your business interests and are married, a good option is to start a business with your spouse. The IRS gives husbands and wives, who file their taxes jointly, the ability to treat a joint business venture as a jointly owned sole proprietorship. It would be categorized as a “qualified joint venture” but that means the owners must exclusively be husband and wife. Also, both spouses have to “materially participate” in the business (so you can’t just list your spouse and hope to get this tax benefit). There are many advantages to having a husband-and-wife-owned business entity. First, taxes and record keeping may be less burdensome. All you have to file is a 1040 return and each spouse fills out a separate Schedule C return based on their ownership interest, according to zoho.com. This is much simpler than the myriad of documents that are required...

17 November

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Importance of Disability Planning

Posted by Bobby Feisee

in Bobby's Blog

You and your loved ones may be relatively healthy today, but can you guarantee you’ll be just as healthy 20 years from now? Of course not. No one can predict when and if they develop a physical disability or disease. No one can be ready for the day they walk into their doctor’s office and are told they’re suffering from Alzheimer’s or cancer. Even if you eat a perfect diet, exercise every day and take supplements, you still can’t avoid the risk of suffering a debilitating physical ailment. For example, one-third of adults over the age of 65 suffer a fall each year. Another shocking statistic - one in three Americans will face at least a 90-day disability before reaching age 65, according to advisorsforum.com. Another critical factor in properly preparing for a disability is the unfortunate fact that nursing homes and long-term care facilities are extremely expensive. In fact,...

06 November

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Benefits of an LLC for Real Estate Investments

Posted by Bobby Feisee

in Bobby's Blog

Investing in real estate can be a very good strategy for creating a sustainable income stream for your estate plan. Though, real estate investments also creates inherent liabilities. Whether you invest in homes or apartments, areas such as laundry rooms or staircases, they all carry great risk of exposure. Even tenants themselves carry the risk of exposing you, the owner, to liability from potential environmental-contamination claims, fire-related claims, slip-and-fall claims and other injury claims. This is why steps should be taken to protect yourself, such as forming a Limited Liability Company (i.e. LLC). An LLC can be a great form of asset protection. An LLC is known for combining the best attributes of a corporation and a partnership. How? Well, an LLC allows you to protect your personal assets (including your primary residence) from claims by creditors against the LLC. So basically, you get personal liability protection. Generally, the...

08 October

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The Importance of a Special Needs Trust and The Difference Between First Party and Third Party Special Needs Trusts

Posted by Bobby Feisee

in Bobby's Blog

If you have a loved one, usually a child, who requires special needs such as in-home care or a lifetime of medical treatment, you need to consider setting up a special needs trust. Before going into what exactly is a special needs trust is, you may be asking yourself, “Why do I need special needs planning?” Well, because properly organizing and caring for a loved one with needs that may last well beyond your lifetime is absolutely critical. It is heartbreaking to see someone with special needs who had a loved one taking care of them, but then that loved one passes away. The special needs individual is basically left with nothing and becomes a ward of the state. This is where special needs planning comes in. It is estate and financial planning designed to provide for, and protect, a beneficiary with special needs while preserving entitlement to...

02 October

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Famous People and Estate Planning Disasters

Posted by Bobby Feisee

in Bobby's Blog

If you think all the well-to-do or celebrities have a magnificent estate plan in place, think again. Many wealthy individuals and famous people failed to properly organize and plan their estates. The result? Estate planning nightmares that lead to millions of dollars being gobbled up by Federal estate taxes, unnecessary legal fees, and lengthy court battles between family members. Below are three prime examples of missed opportunities, in terms of proper estate planning: Steve McNair Steve McNair was a successful NFL quarterback who died suddenly and unexpectedly. He did not have a will or any estate planning documents when he passed away. He left behind a wife and four children. An all too common problem is that two of his children were from a prior relationship. This can create conflict because an estate that is divided by the laws of intestacy are not concerned about fairness or equity. Intestacy laws are a...

16 September

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Creative Estate Planning for Clients No Longer Subject to the Federal Estate Tax

Posted by Bobby Feisee

in Bobby's Blog

When Congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA), roughly 99.8 percent of U.S. taxpayers became shielded from the federal estate tax (aka the "death tax"). So what does this mean for estate planning? Post-ATRA estate planning appears dramatically different than in years past. For the first time in U.S. history there is a “permanent”, inflation-adjusted and portable exemption amount that essentially excludes the extremely wealthy, from gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax. This is extremely important since, for the past decade, there was a great deal of uncertainty in estate planning. Prior to ATRA, there had been a phased-in repeal of the gift, estate and GST taxes, a “sunset” of that same repeal, then a temporary two-year reinstatement of the taxes, but with a $5 million exemption and a 35% top rate. After the two-year temporary reinstatement, the exemption was set to drop all the way down to $1...

29 August

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Digital Assets in Your Estate: Are You Prepared?

Posted by Bobby Feisee

in Bobby's Blog

[caption width="210" align="alignleft"] Image Courtesy of Petervan's Blog[/caption]Do you have a plan for who will manage your Facebook account, Twitter account, Ebay business, Spotify account, etc.? If you answered no, it’s okay; not many people do. The issue of what happens with “digital assets” and accounts after a loved one passes away is growing in importance with estate planners. It makes sense considering our lives are becoming more and more digitized. A recent study showed that many people value their digital assets at an average of nearly $55,000. Beyond the potential monetary value of your digital assets in your estate, there are other important issues such as privacy, security and legacy planning. It’s a sad, but true fact, that laws tend to lag behind technology, so current statutes and case law are not very helpful in addressing this issue and/or providing guidance for how to properly incorporate digital assets into...

22 May

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Estate Planning Tip: Utilizing a Roth IRA to Stretch Out Tax Benefits

Posted by Bobby Feisee

in Bobby's Blog

A Roth IRA offers distinctive retirement-savings benefits since under current law, investments in this type of account can grow tax-deferred and withdrawals are tax-free. It also gives you the ability to avoid early distribution penalties on some withdrawals. If you have a significant balance in your IRA and don’t plan to tap that balance during your lifetime, you may want to consider converting your IRA to a Roth IRA since it can benefit your estate. How? Well, the contributions made to a Roth IRA have the potential to grow larger than it otherwise might under traditional distribution rules, which means you’re leaving more for your loved ones. Another major benefit is that your beneficiaries can make income-tax-free withdrawals during their lifetimes. There are some benefits to this IRA strategy, but it is not fail safe. A potential drawback to a Roth IRA is that the ability to contribute to this type...

17 May

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Importance of Having a Durable Power of Attorney

Posted by Bobby Feisee

in Bobby's Blog

This article deals with the scenario of a loved one who becomes incapacitated and therefore needs someone to execute appropriate planning of their estate. The fact is, in the absence of an estate plan, only a properly drafted General Durable Power of Attorney will afford a level of flexibility necessary to make critical decisions about an incapacitated person’s estate. In this article, I’ll talk about how the Power of Attorney plays an important role in the planning and protection process. What does a Durable Power of Attorney do? Well, this is a legal document that an individual prepares while they are mentally able to read and understand the document. The document cannot be drafted after you’ve become incapacitated. Once you become incapacitated, the document states who will be appointed an Agent (which is either individual or multiple individuals) to act on the incapacitated individual’s behalf. Think of this agent as...