We’ve written about the importance of updating your beneficiaries, but when you’re going through a divorce, should you update your estate plan while navigating separation or after the divorce is finalized? If you do not have an estate plan, an excellent time to create one is when your marital status changes.
The Boston College Center for Retirement Research released a study that involved over 15,000 employees who were offered projections of their retirement income based on potential voluntary contributions. The projections changed the way individuals decided to contribute to their savings.
The North Carolina Senate had announced plans to reveal the new NC tax reform bill in early May. However, the press conference instead produced the outline of a measure that the Senate hopes to turn into a bill later in 2013. Citing pending reports of tax collections from April as part of the bill’s delay, the legislators provided the proposed tax changes that will combine to about $1 billion in tax cuts.
Foreign trusts, or offshore trusts, are popular asset protection tools as they are notorious for providing superior protection from creditors. However, foreign trusts are not creditor-proof.
As part of National Elder Law Month, our North Carolina elder law attorneys are providing a series of posts to help educate senior citizens and their loved ones who care for them about their legal options.
Steve Oshin’s 2013 Annual Domestic Asset Protection Trust State Rankings were released and show the highest scoring state for DAPTs is Nevada.
Designating a spouse as a beneficiary of an IRA not only ensures they will have access to retirement accounts in the event their partner passes away, but it offers them unique advantages to which non-spouse beneficiaries are not entitled.
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A recent North Carolina Senate proposal for the ballots in November of 2014 is an amendment to remove the right to vote in North Carolina for individuals who have been determined incompetent by a court of any state. If passed into law, Senate Bill 668 will take the right to vote away from many senior citizens and individuals with disabilities who have been adjudicated incompetent by a court. (An individual’s constitutional right to vote may be granted back if a court restores their competency.)
Parents are allowed to take a federal and state income tax deduction for each dependent child. However, North Carolina proposed Senate Bill 667 (Equalizer Voter Rights) in early April 2013 that will not allow parents to claim their child for state income tax purposes if their child has registered to vote at an address other than where the parent or legal guardian resides.
Why would an individual renounce or disclaim an inheritance in North Carolina? An inheritance may not always be expected and it may not be desirable for the beneficiary. Certain assets, like real estate or personal items, may require complicated or expensive maintenance that the beneficiary does not want to manage. An inheritance may also come with a heavy tax burden. For senior citizens, an inheritance could affect their eligibility for Medicaid benefits. Instead, a beneficiary may want another family member to receive their inheritance.
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