One of the reasons why it is important to consult with a good South Carolina estate planning lawyer when you are making preparations for the future is because each case is unique. Depending on your line of work and your specific financial situation any number of approaches may be appropriate, and as a layperson you are probably going to need professional guidance if you are serious about making the right choices.

Consider the case of the entertainer and composer Ray Charles. As a songwriter he knew that there would be ongoing income earned after he passed away via publishing and recording royalties. So, he created the Ray Charles Foundation to support charities that he was passionate about before he passed away.

Charles did have 12 children, and he provided for them by giving each a $500,000 trust fund. When he was doing this he required them to make no further claims against the estate in return for the inheritances, and they apparently agreed.

Now, according to an article that is appearing at CNN, seven of these 12 children are being sued by the foundation. It appears as though they attempted to renegotiate copyrights to 51 of their father’s songs. These compositions have been the property of the foundation and the foundation contends that it does indeed own these copyrights into perpetuity.

Starting a charitable foundation can be a great way to enhance your legacy, but of course it has to be done correctly because people can and do step forward in the future challenging your wishes. If you are interested in discussing your charitable intentions with an expert, simply take a moment to arrange for a consultation with a licensed and experienced South Carolina estate planning attorney.

Kuhn & Kuhn Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

You are probably very good at what you do, but no one is an expert at everything. There is a common archetype out there about how people are sometimes reluctant to ask for directions because they don’t want to admit that they need some help. This is something to avoid, and it is especially important to seek assistance when you have to make important financial decisions.

One way that people can come into a significant amount of money is by receiving an inheritance. There are cases when an individual passes away unexpectedly, perhaps at a relatively young age leaving behind resources for his or her loved ones.

If you were to receive such an inheritance when you were a young adult you would have to make some choices, and you may not consider yourself to be especially financially savvy.

When someone leaves behind an inheritance this individual is trying to provide for loved ones knowing that it will be a final act of giving. Because you will not have this relative to call on for assistance later on, it is important to take the inheritance very seriously and do what it takes to maximize its positive impact on your life for the long-term.

There is no reason to go it alone and take stabs in the dark. If you are in possession of an inheritance it is advisable to remain patient, measured, and pragmatic.

The first step is to sit down and discuss your situation with a licensed and experienced South Carolina financial planning lawyer. He or she will take a close look at your case, become apprised of your objectives, and provide you with expert advice.

Kuhn & Kuhn Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

You have to be prepared for the possibility of incapacity if you want to plan ahead for the future in a comprehensive manner. This falls into the category of those instances when you hope for the best but make sure that you are ready for any challenges that may present themselves.

There are those who don’t take incapacity planning seriously because they are under the impression that it is very unlikely that they will ever become unable to make their own decisions. But when you put the matter under a microscope you find that this is simply not the case.

The segment of the population that is at least 85 years old is growing faster than any other, and the average lifespan is 78 years but of course the longer you live the higher this average lifespan is going to be.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, approximately 40% of people who are 85 years of age and over have contracted the disease. So it is becoming increasingly likely that you will live into your mid 80s and beyond and four out of every 10 individuals is a pretty significant ratio. Plus, Alzheimer’s is by no means the only cause of incapacity among our nation’s elders.

If you visit a good South Carolina estate planning attorney he or she will be able to assist you as you add an incapacity component to your comprehensive plan for aging. This can include durable powers of attorney and perhaps a disability trustee if you are using a revocable living trust to transfer assets. Having representatives of your own choosing in place is key, and taking action to protect yourself with the benefit of professional assistance is a relatively simple and prudent step.

Kuhn & Kuhn Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

If you want to travel and enjoy your leisure time to the utmost you are probably going to have to plan ahead carefully so that you have resources to draw from beyond your Social Security benefit. If you get started early enough and stick to an intelligently conceived plan for an extended period of time you should be able to enjoy your golden years in comfort.

It is however important to gain an understanding of what to expect from Social Security when you are making preparations for your senior years. While this entitlement program will provide you with some income if you pay into it sufficiently, you must recognize the fact that it is not a cure-all.

Many people have questions about Social Security spousal benefits. If you are married both you and your spouse will receive the Social Security benefit that you have each respectively earned throughout your working years.

However, there is a caveat. Let’s say that your earned benefit was less than half as much as your spouse’s benefit. In this case your benefit would be increased to equal half of what your spouse was receiving.

It should also be noted that if your spouse’s benefit is greater than yours and he or she was to pass away you would receive 100% of his or her benefit but you would no longer receive your own.

The best way to gain a thorough understanding of Social Security as you are creating a comprehensive plan for your retirement years is to discuss everything with a professional. Should you be interested in doing so, simply pick up the phone right now to arrange for a consultation with a licensed, experienced South Carolina retirement planning lawyer.

Kuhn & Kuhn Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

While it is true that taking care of the financial side of things is a big part of estate planning it is wise to see the entire picture and plan comprehensively for all the eventualities of aging.

After all, when you are taking steps to arrange for the eventual transfer of assets to your loved ones you are doing this because you care about them and want to do right by them. At the same time, there are some other things that you can do to make things easier on those that you will be leaving behind.

Along these lines you would do well to make sure that you have executed your advance health care directives. The directives that are widely recommended are a living will and a durable medical power of attorney.

Imagine being faced with the prospect of deciding whether or not you should direct doctors to discontinue artificial life support measures that are keeping a loved one alive. You may know that you would want to be allowed to pass away naturally, or you may know that you would prefer to be kept alive. But it’s not about you; you are being asked to act for someone else and this is an excruciating position to find yourself in.

This is why it is advisable to leave behind a living will that lets your family know how you would want to proceed under such a circumstance.

The durable medical power of attorney is used to name someone to make decisions in your behalf about matters that may not be addressed in the living will so there is no confusion or disagreements among your loved ones.

If you have overlooked the need for advance health care directives, the sooner you execute them the better. Right now would be a good time to take action and make an appointment to speak with a licensed South Carolina estate planning lawyer to put these important legal instruments in place.

Kuhn & Kuhn Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

It is always especially sad to hear about someone passing away at a young age, and this was the case with the singer Amy Winehouse. The British songstress died last July at the age of 27, joining the ranks of music stars like Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and Kurt Cobain who passed on at the same age.

At the time the British tabloids were reporting that Amy Winehouse had a last will in place that excluded her ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil, an individual who is serving prison time. She was said to have an estate estimated at $16 million in value that would be going to her older brother Alex and her divorced parents Mitch and Janis.

Now we are hearing via Forbes that these early reports were in fact untrue. Amy Winehouse died intestate according to probate records that have become available. This means that she died without a will and according to the laws of succession her parents will be the sole heirs to her estate, which wound up being comprised of $4.66 million worth of assets after expenses were paid according to the Forbes piece.

Regardless of your age it is important to have an estate plan in place, especially if you have considerable means. Even if Amy Winehouse would have wanted her parents to inherit all of her fortune (which is questionable) it is possible that steps could have been taken to preserve more of her wealth.

If you are currently going through life without an estate plan, you may want to learn from this story and take action right now to set up an appointment with a good South Carolina estate planning lawyer to make your wishes known.

Kuhn & Kuhn Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

If you want to be ready for retirement you have to get started saving as soon as you can in an effort to accumulate the financial resources that you will need to enjoy your golden years in comfort.

A 401(k) plan is a very good start, and most of us are offered an opportunity to participate in one when we first begin our careers. It is definitely a good idea to contribute into the 401(k) plan that is offered at your place of employment, especially if the employer is willing to match your contributions.

One question that often arises about 401(k) accounts is this: What happens to your investment in the event of a job separation? The short answer is that it is up to you.

In many cases you may be able to simply keep the account, but you may find that access to administrative assistance is limited. Expenses involved in administering the account that were previously handled by your employer may be passed on to you as well.

Another possible course of action that you could take would be to cash out the account. While this is allowed, you would have to pay a 10% penalty along with a 20% tax.

Perhaps the best solution if you want to keep your long-term retirement plan on track would be to roll your account over into an individual retirement account or the 401(k) plan at your new job.

Being able to adapt to changing circumstances is a very positive quality as you are planning for the future. The ideal scenario is to develop a relationship with a good South Carolina financial planning lawyer who you can always consult with as time goes on and unexpected events present themselves.

Kuhn & Kuhn Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Back in 2010 there was a lot of uncertainty within the estate planning community. During that year the estate tax was repealed because of a provision contained within the Bush era tax cuts.

But the tax relief act that provided this repeal was scheduled to sunset at the end of 2010. At that time the estate tax was going to return according to existing laws. The maximum rate of the tax was set at 55% and the exclusion amount was to be $1 million.

These figures represented a step backward from what we had in 2009 before this one year repeal. During that year the estate tax exclusion was $3.5 million and the top rate of the tax was 45%.

As it turned out, a new tax relief measure was passed in December of 2010 that altered the parameters for the better. It allowed for a $5 million exclusion and 35% maximum rate in 2011 and a $5.12 million exclusion in 2012 with the rate remaining the same.

We are highlighting this chronology because of the fact that a similar situation exists right now. The tax relief act that was passed in 2010 is going to expire at the end of this year. If it does so without any changes to relevant laws being passed, once again we are faced with the prospect of a $1 million exclusion and a 55% top rate.

But of course the possibility of last-minute legislation passing to save us from this fate once again exists.

The best way to be prepared regardless of how the winds blow is to have legal representation in place. The first step toward this end is to reach out and make an appointment to speak with a licensed, experienced South Carolina estate planning lawyer.

Kuhn & Kuhn Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

If you want be optimally prepared for the future it is important to have a savvy South Carolina estate planning lawyer carefully evaluate the nature of your assets. All resources are not created equal; the exact form of certain assets are going to dictate the optimal course of action when you are developing a long-term financial plan with the well-being of your loved ones in mind.

Along these lines, if you have highly appreciable securities you may want to consider implementing the zeroed out GRAT strategy. In this context the acronym GRAT stands for “grantor retained annuity trust.” You as the grantor fund the trust and receive annuity payments annually throughout a term that you set forth when you create the GRAT.

The inclusion of a beneficiary is also part of the process. This beneficiary would receive any remainder left in the trust after the completion of its term, and because of this potential asset transfer the act of funding the trust is considered to be a taxable gift. Interest is accounted for using the Section 7520 rate that is in place at the time of the trust’s creation.

The objective is to zero out the GRAT, taking annuity payments equaling this entire taxable value over the term of the trust.

The trick is to fund the trust with securities that will exceed this estimated appreciation. According to a recent article in Forbes, Facebook founders Dustin Moskovitz and Mark Zuckerberg are said to have done this by funding GRATs with Facebook shares that are expected to skyrocket in value.

Even if you are not in such an ideal situation, zeroing out a GRAT could conceivably benefit you. To explore the strategy in depth, simply take a moment to sit down and discuss your situation with a good South Carolina financial planning lawyer.

Kuhn & Kuhn Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Making sure that your financial health is in good standing as you reach an advanced age is of course very important. If you are like most people it is going to take some intelligent long-term planning to position yourself to enjoy your retirement years to the fullest. But, if you work with a good South Carolina financial planning attorney you should be able to accumulate the resources that you need to live comfortably throughout your life.

In addition to your financial well-being you also have to concern yourself with your physical health. Having enough money to do all the things that you always planned on doing when your time became your own is not going to do much good if your health will not allow you to take advantage of your financial freedom.

One of the health issues to keep in mind as you are approaching your senior years is the possibility of falling down and injuring yourself seriously. The statistics on the subject are eye-catching to say the least.

According to the National Council On Aging, an older adult American dies as a result of a fall every 29 minutes. Falling is the leading cause of accidental death among elder Americans, and annual medical expenses incurred in the United States due to falls are expected to reach in excess of $50 billion by 2020.

There are things that you can do to prevent falls, such as installing handrails, grab bars and walk-in showers into your home. It is also important to stay focused, aware, and in the moment while measuring every step because a single mistake could have devastating consequences.

Kuhn & Kuhn Law Firm is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.