Portability, Rev. Proc 2017-34 and Potential Estate Tax Legislation
Recently widowed individuals whose deceased spouse’s estate did not make a portability election by the due date for filing an estate tax return -- because the estate either was not aware a portability election was available or required, or determined that a portability election was not necessary…
Yours, Mine and Ours: Estate Planning for a Blended Family
February 8, 2021
by Casey Dorman Lawson
When William Shakespeare wrote “What’s mine is yours, and what is yours is mine,” he likely was not thinking about a blended family. Blending families offer a myriad of challenges, one of which is how the spouses’ assets will be distributed at death. If you are a spouse in a blended family, the…
With All My Electronic Goods I Do Thee Endow—Digital Asset Planning For The 2020s And Beyond
Hey Siri, how do I get everything on this iPhone to my loved ones if something happens to me (or make sure it’s deleted)? If you ask Siri this question, she will (as is all too common) not give you the right response, and point you to the Internet. Hopefully, with the addition of this blog post…
Hindsight in 2020: The Biggest Reasons Relatives Wish Their Loved One Had An Estate Plan
January 30, 2020
by David Biscoe Bingham
We have all heard the phrase that hindsight is 20/20. Often, going through a situation is one of the best ways to learn how to navigate it, or help others, if one encounters a similar scenario in the future. But what about when the difficulty of a situation falls on others, who have no power to…