When Can Estate Assets Be Distributed?
Many estate executors focus on estate taxes and forget about income taxes. That can be an expensive mistake.
Ethan Huizenga
March 21, 2022
What Is the HEMS Standard?
The ‘HEMS’ (health, education, maintenance, support) standard in estate planning is used to guide trustees in how/when they should release funds to a beneficiary.
Ethan Huizenga
February 25, 2022
What Happens to IRAs and 401(k) when Spouse Dies?
The rise in the stock market over the past several years, teamed with the passage of the SECURE Act two years ago and the scheduled 50% reduction in the size of the federal estate tax exemption four years from now, has resulted in a renewed interest in estate planning for IRA and 401k accounts owned by married couples.
Ethan Huizenga
February 23, 2022
What are Responsibilities of Trustees and Executors?
A trustee is a fiduciary which, essentially, is a person that owes a legal, ethical and, perhaps, moral obligation to act in the interest of another.
Ethan Huizenga
October 6, 2021
Estate Planning and the Troubled Child
Every family has one–or maybe more–black sheep. They’re people who march to their own drum and handing them an inheritance could be problematic.
Ethan Huizenga
January 8, 2021
How to: Stop Family Fights over an Inheritance
After a loved one passes, one of the biggest hurdles families face is passing wealth onto the next generation. Unfortunately, family dynamics can spur conflict and infighting among descendants.
Ethan Huizenga
December 15, 2020
3 Ways to ‘Stretch’ Out IRA Distributions
The SECURE Act killed the stretch IRA but instead of mourning, advisors can help clients make up the loss.
Ethan Huizenga
November 30, 2020
What are the Responsibilities of a Trustee?
A trustee is a manager of assets in a trust. The grantor creates the trust and appoints the trustee. A trustee has a ‘fiduciary duty’ to serve the grantor and not benefit personally.
Ethan Huizenga
November 23, 2020
5 Ways to Settle Disputes over an Estate
Unfortunately, due to hidden resentments, siblings still tend to end up in court suing each other and losing great chunks of their inheritance in the process all too frequently.
Ethan Huizenga
October 15, 2020
Distributing Unequal Amounts in an Estate Plan
For most of us, considering the distribution of the property we have accumulated over our lives is a painful reminder of our mortality.
Ethan Huizenga
October 12, 2020
