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As you get nearer to retirement, there is more pressure to plan ahead. Kiplinger’s article, “4 Big Retirement Regrets That You Should Avoid,” says that sometimes failure is the most effective teacher. Retirees often consider their regrets and the things they’d do differently if they could. The following are a few of the more common mistakes retirees make: Quitting too soon. After all those years of working, it’s hard not to dream of retirement. This decision, however, can be more emotional than logical. If you retire too early, you cut down on the time you have to save money, and you also lengthen the time you’ll need that money. Depending too much on hope. When you retire, your amount of financial risk needs to change. Don’t keep the same investment strategy and look for big returns. In retirement, it’s not as much about how much money you can grow, but rather it’s about taking distributions. It’s not a gamble with the future. No, you’re risking money you need to live on right now. If there’s a serious downturn, you could lose much of your lifetime saving, which may not be easy to recover. Cashing in too early. Many retirees regret drawing Social Security at age 62 rather than waiting until they reached their full retirement age (or even longer)—when they would have received bigger monthly checks. Without a strategy to address taxes and other expenses, they fail to address the potential issues when it comes to sustaining the lifestyle they want on the money that remains. Spending too much, planning too little and enjoying too late. Retirees frequently overspend in the first few years when they have their good health and freedom. Unfortunately, they don’t have a plan to address their income needs, so they withdraw too much too fast to pay for that new life without considering the future. There are also some who regret not doing enough in retirement, saving every penny but afraid to do anything. Others give no thought to what they’ll do with their leisure time, and when health issues arise, they’re sorry they didn’t enjoy things more when they could. It’s a balancing act—getting out and enjoying life and making certain you have the money to pay for it. This requires planning ahead, which is far better than living with regrets. Reference: Kiplinger’s (August 2016) “4 Big Retirement Regrets That You Should Avoid” #AssetProtection #RetirementPlanning #SocialSecurity

According to the regulations.gov post “Estate, Gift, and Generation-skipping Transfer Taxes: Restrictions on Liquidation of an Interest,” the Treasury Department and the IRS have proposed regulations that would amend §?25.2701-2 to address what constitutes control of an LLC or other entity or arrangement that isn’t a corporation, partnership or limited partnership. These regs would amend §?25.2704-1 to address deathbed transfers that result in the lapse of a liquidation right and to clarify the treatment of a transfer that results in the creation of an assignee interest. The changes would refine the definition of “applicable restriction.” It eliminates the comparison to the liquidation limitations of state law. It would also add a new section to address restrictions on the liquidation of an individual interest in an entity and the effect of insubstantial interests held by persons who are not members of the family. If and when finalized, the proposed regulations would do the following: Treat a lapse of voting and liquidation rights for transfers made within three years of death of interests in a family-controlled entity as an additional transfer, eliminating or limiting the lack of control and minority discounts for these transfers; Eliminate discounts based on the transferee’s status as an assignee and not a full owner and participant in the entity; Disregard the ability of most nonfamily member owners to block the removal of covered restrictions, unless he or she has held the interest for more than three years, owns a substantial interest in the entity and has the right—with six months’ notice—to be redeemed or bought out for cash or property—not including a promissory note issued by the entity, its owners or anyone related to the entity or its owners; Disregard restrictions on liquidation that aren’t mandated by law in determining the fair market value of the transferred interest; and Clarify the description of entities covered to include LLCs and other entities and business arrangements—as well as corporations and partnerships. If these end up being the final regulations, taxpayers will lose an important estate planning technique, and the tax cost of transferring interests in family-owned entities will increase. Reference: regulations.gov (August 4, 2016) “Estate, Gift, and Generation-skipping Transfer Taxes: Restrictions on Liquidation of an Interest” #AssetProtection #estateplanning #TaxPlanning

Then, any property in the probate court “pours over” into the trust. according to the trust agreement. Key Features Include: Assets transfer to a living trust. Trust handles principal distributions. Will ties up loose ends. trust with precision while unfunded assets will be in probate court and poured back into the trust.

importance of elder law for LGBTQ+ seniors and how an experienced Houston elder law attorney can help protect It also focuses on protecting seniors’ rights in retirement, social security, and disability benefits Elder law aims to ensure that seniors are protected and receive the care and support they need later The Role of Elder Law in Protecting LGBTQ+ Seniors Elder law can play an important role in protecting This may include creating a living will, setting up trusts, and designating beneficiaries for retirement

If you own property, a living trust may help ensure that your assets are properly distributed when you

To help protect an older loved one from elder financial abuse, become familiar with the more common types if the organization is licensed, as each state has licensing requirements for the sale of financial products If someone who reaches out to you agrees to a meeting, bring along a trusted adviser.

trust that controls 80% of National Amusements (his daughter owns the remaining 20 percent), which owns A trust anticipates problems and can define what the creator of the trust means by incapacity, which The trust should define the meaning of incapacity and who determines incapacity. The critical issue in all of this is who controls the seven-trustee board of his trust: the National Many trusts will have a term that’s automatically effective when the creator of the trust hits a designated

Both are welcome developments says The Las Vegas Review-Journal in a recent article, “Elder abuse.” These actions are in part in response to a Review-Journal series revealing dysfunction in Clark County’s guardianship system, a system that was supposed to safeguard the assets of senior citizens whom courts have determined to be incapacitated. In some instances, those appointed to look after the financial assets of the infirm or incapacitated took advantage of them and raided their bank accounts, sold their property, and drained the resources of the person they were supposed to be helping. The attorney general said that he will appoint a fraud investigator in his office to work with local law enforcement agencies on elder exploitation—which is intended to get police and prosecutors to take these cases more seriously. The commission heard from District Court Judge Cynthia Dianne Steele, who said that about half of the 3,800 cases currently in the system were out of compliance with state law. Many lacked an initial inventory of assets, which makes it impossible to determine if there are predator issues, or they were missing annual reports, which are required by the state. Judge Steele said that new software will flag files that lack the necessary paperwork. The judge also informed the panel that 85% of seniors in the Clark County guardianship program were not represented by an attorney during the process. Incapacitated seniors must have an attorney to discourage illegal activity and increase the odds that any suspicious actions be revealed. Reference: Las Vegas Review-Journal (April 4, 2016) “Elder abuse” #ElderAbuse #ElderLaw

Trusts You can also name a charity as a trust beneficiary or create a trust specifically for a charitable Charitable Remainder Trust: With this trust, you or people you designate can receive the trust income Charitable Lead Trust: Conversely, with this trust, charities you designate can receive the trust income Incentive Trusts: While not a specific type of trust, an incentive trust refers to using incentive clauses Protect Your Legacy with an Estate Planning Lawyer in Houston If you are revising an estate plan or just

If an emergency should occur, you will want to have a trusted individual make decisions on your behalf Digital Asset Protection The members of Gen Z are the first true digital natives. own cryptocurrency, run a popular social media account, or just want your carefully curated Instagram protected just starting, making plans for the end of your life should not be put off and is an important part of protecting

For those who are married, fortunately there are laws in place to protect spouses who fail to plan, by Estate Planning for Unmarried Partners There are no laws in place to protect unmarried partners. Revocable Trust A revocable trust can be especially important for unmarried couples. By using a trust and skipping probate, your assets also remain private.

Part of the deceased spouse’s assets equal to the estate tax exemption amount would be placed into a trust The surviving spouse didn’t technically own the assets held in the trust. The assets that the surviving spouse owned outside of the trust would also pass without estate tax up For many, a credit shelter trust isn’t necessary for estate tax purposes. In addition, a bypass trust can also be good from an asset protection standpoint if the surviving spouse