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If something were to happen to you, your estate planning attorney or another trusted person should have digital assets, including photos and important documents, to the cloud, and ensure that your attorney and trusted Digital assets can be placed into a trust or distributed through your will, or you could grant access

When in doubt, it is best to work with a trusted Medicaid planning attorney from the start.

IRAs and see-through trust status. Usually, trusts aren’t eligible to leverage stretch-IRA provisions. To receive preferential tax treatment for an IRA beneficiary trust, if the trust qualifies for see-through Requirements for a see-through IRA beneficiary trust. To be treated as a see-through trust, a trust must be irrevocable as of the date of death of the owner

A recent post on New Jersey 101.5’s website, “Red flags to avoid when  donating to charity,” cautions that when you’re looking for a worthy cause for a donation, be certain that it’s a “qualified exempt organization” per the IRS, which has a list of these charities on its website. Remember that charitable contributions are deductible only as itemized deductions. If the donation is for non-cash contributions to a qualified charity valued at more than $500, you must also fill out and attach Form 8283 with your return to the IRS. Typically, if the value of the donated property for which you plan to claim a deduction is greater than $5,000—or if the deduction for any one item is greater than $500, you need to have a qualified appraiser’s report. If you don’t have this, the deduction will be based on the estimated fair market value of the property. Fair market value may be based on the current sale price of comparable items, based on the age and condition of the property and on the similarity of the compared and donated items. The fair market value of ordinary household goods and clothing is usually much less than the original purchase price. Some organizations, like the Salvation Army and Goodwill, provide a donation value guide that lists common items donated and the average value. Be precise with your records of the donation. If you are donating household items or clothing, the items have to be in “good used condition.” You can’t donate that old plaid sofa in the basement—the one that no one would ever use—just to get it out of the house. If the amount you are donating to one organization is more than $250, you’ll need a written receipt itemizing the items and the values—and even with donations less than $250, it’s a good idea to get an itemized written receipt. Reference: New Jersey 101.5 (January 2, 2016) “Red flags to avoid when donating to charity” #EstatePlanningLawyer #HoustonWills #Probate #Inheritance #HoustonTrustsandEstates

If an emergency should occur, you will want to have a trusted individual make decisions on your behalf

Talk to an experienced elder law attorney about your options, such as a Medicaid Trust.

A qualified trusts and estates lawyer can also help you deal with planning for minor children and those

a good idea for elderly folks to sign emergency contact forms—before it’s needed—that authorizes a trusted

You are about to get married, after all, there should be trust and honesty between you.

Transfers to disabled children, caretaker children, certain siblings, and money in any trusts that are

Luckily, this situation can be prevented through the use of Special Needs Trusts, or Supplemental Needs Trusts, when putting your estate planning in place.

lawyers use to get around an out of state probate include placing the property into a revocable living trust