Estate Planning Do and Don’t List
When done strategically and methodically, estate planning can greatly smooth the processes and paperwork that follows a death. Handled improperly or haphazardly (or not handled at all), that process can become a tedious, time-intensive nightmare. Below are a few important do’s and don’ts to keep in mind when you’re thinking about your estate plan. The […]
Navigating Probate: The Roadmap to an Estate
Probate is often a scary word for people when discussing estate plans. And it’s often talked about as something to avoid. While there are some scenarios which allow an estate to greatly streamline probate through the strategic usage of trusts, payable-upon-death and transferable-upon-death accounts,as well as beneficiary designations and joint ownership with right of survivorship, […]
Legacy Family Planning – Passing Real Estate to the Next Generation
For many families, real estate assets represent some of their largest assets. Planning for inheritance of real estate involves many factors which must be balanced in determining a family’s estate plan, e.g., income and estate tax planning, asset protection, rights to use among different heirs, ongoing management and ongoing funding of maintenance. Handling real estate […]
Probate in Colorado
In Colorado, an estate typically must go through probate when a person passes away. Probate is a procedure that helps ensure the decedent’s liabilities are paid and assets are distributed to the rightful beneficiaries of the estate. Probate is generally required if the decedent owned real property in Colorado or if their estate is valued […]
Talking Wills & Estate Planning Around the Thanksgiving Table
The Thanksgiving holiday week is well-known to be the heaviest travel time of the year, bringing families and friends together from near and far. While you have them gathered in one place, it’s also the perfect time to talk about estate planning matters with your family. A big piece of the discussion is understanding how […]
Using Qualified Personal Residence Trusts to Reduce Estate Taxes
A Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT) can be a useful estate planning tool for strategically reducing gift and estate tax burdens on your beneficiaries when the asset is transferred. How QPRTs Work: A QPRT is an irrevocable trust. Once you transfer a property into the trust, you will not be able to take back ownership. […]
Estate Planning Tips: Avoiding Accidental Disinheritance
Most people are aware that disinheriting someone is the intentional act of preventing a person from receiving a share of the deceased’s estate. But “accidental” or “unintended” disinheritance is what happens when someone fully intends to leave assets to a family member, but improper or inaccurate estate planning practices result in that person being disinherited, […]
Important Considerations for High Net Worth Estate Planning
Most people are familiar with the basic needs of an estate plan: Will, Revocable Living Trust, Durable Power of Attorney and a Living Will or Health Care Power of Attorney. But high net worth estate planning requires individuals to also ensure that their estate plans are sophisticated and thorough enough to protect larger assets like […]
Estate Planning: Gifting Strategies to Consider
With the expected gift tax changes looming on the horizon, many clients are looking at ways to restructure estate plans to avoid estate and gift taxes. In this post, we’ll look at a few estate planning gifting strategies to consider: Family Trusts, Gifting Plans, Life Insurance Trusts, Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATS), and Spousal Limited […]
Plan Now for 2026 Estate & Gift Tax Changes
The estate and gift tax exemption amount (currently $12.92 million per individual and $25.84 million for married couples) reverts to its pre-2018 levels (adjusted for inflation), if Congress fails to act prior to December 31, 2025. Projections vary, but it is estimated that the 2026 estate and gift tax exemption could be as low as […]