In case you haven’t heard, the New Year brought a new law recently signed by the President. To avoid the country from falling off the “fiscal cliff,” the “American Taxpayer Relief Act” was approved on New Year’s Day. The approval and signing of this new law may affect the future of your estate plan and your estate taxes. Regarding federal estate taxes, this new law makes almost all of the previous tax provisions, commonly known as ”TRA 2010,” permanent, with the exception of the tax rate. … [Read more...]

There are only a few days left before the clock strikes midnight on December 31st and the tax law changes. Or will it? As of this writing, the law to which it will change will be the pre-EGTRRA/TRA law. In other words, currently in 2012, individuals with estates under $5.12 million are not subject to federal gift or estate tax. However, if this law expires, estates larger than $1 million will become taxable at the beginning of 2013 and we will back to a $1 million applicable exclusion per … [Read more...]

Our mission is to arm consumers and professional advisors in our community with the information needed to make informed decisions about their family's and client’s future. With that purpose, we are pleased to announce the rollout of our new and improved Estate Planning website! The website was created to serve as a resource center for families when planning their estate strategies. Visitors will find useful information regarding probate, business planning, asset protection, incapacity planning, … [Read more...]

On December 17th, Congress revised the estate tax with a new law, TRA 2010, that sets the exclusion amount at $5 million per person for 2010 – 2012. However, this temporary adjustment to the estate tax exclusion disappears in 2013, and returns with an exclusion of $1 million per person. Read more about how the estate tax revision under TRA 2010 will affect your estate plan, regardless of whether you have a taxable estate. … [Read more...]

Estate planning takes trust, understanding … [Read more...]

BY PAULA BURKES The Oklahoman Published: February 28, 2010 DHS recently investigated the neglect of an elderly Enid widow, who lives alone and is failing fast. A judge named her Enid grandson her guardian, though the woman wanted her son in Oklahoma City. After her grandson was suspected of embezzling from her, the judge named her Enid granddaughter guardian. But she failed to pick up her grandmother’s medications and take her to doctor appointments, so the judge appointed an Enid bank. … [Read more...]