The Wealth Counselor

Common Life Insurance Mistakes in Estate Planning

With few exceptions, almost every client should have life insurance, just as everyone should have an estate plan.  But simply having a policy—and a plan—is not enough. Both life insurance policies and estate plans are prone to mistakes or oversights that can undermine their effectiveness. And those mistakes or oversights can be compounded when life […]

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Lessons We Can Learn from Famous Mothers and Their Estate Plans

Gloria Vanderbilt: No Trust Fund Kids for Her A tenet of the American dream is that children grow up to earn more and have a better standard of living than their parents. Traditionally, upward mobility in America is achieved through hard work and the growth of the economy. Intergenerational wealth transfers are also widespread, with […]

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Assisting Clients in Decoding the Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax  

Optimize Generational Wealth Transfers with These Insights  Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax 101  Many of you are likely familiar with estate and gift taxes. However, dealing with the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax comes up less often since it usually only affects ultra-wealthy clients.    Estate planning attorneys, financial planners, and tax advisors must understand the GST tax […]

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Let’s Do the Math: How Does the Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Work? 

The generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax, is a tax assessed on gifts from one person to another person in two or more generations younger, or someone who is at least 37 ½ years younger (also known as a skip person). Although not everyone will have to address this as part of their estate plan, if you […]

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What You Need to Know about the Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Returns 

If you have clients with significant wealth, things like estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxes need to be discussed. If a client wishes to make a gift or leave a large inheritance to a grandchild (while their child is still alive) a more in-depth conversation surrounding the GST tax needs to be addressed. As […]

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