Downs Law Firm, P.C.
Many people are taking this time at home during the COVID-19 crisis to update their estate plan. Here are six critical estate plan components you should focus on in light of the current pandemic.
Most consumers are familiar with the beneficiary designation form they complete when opening an IRA or 401(k). The form designates who receives the asset if the account owner dies. However, these forms can create confusion, unintended bequests, and family turmoil if not adequately monitored.
The Secure Act will force faster withdrawals from Inherited IRA Accounts.
This is a big one. The IRS would love for you to take every penny out of your 401(k) when you change jobs for one very good reason: more tax revenue.
We are programmed to contribute the “max” to our retirement accounts, but we disregard, or do not understand, the pitfalls of improperly filled-out beneficiary forms.
Thanks to the Internet, everyone has the ability to draft wills, trusts, and a variety of other legal documents. Many documents can be produced for less than $100, requiring only a few mouse clicks and filled-in blanks.
The Secure Act would upend 20 years of retirement planning and stick it to the middle class.
Once your money is in a retirement account, it’s there until you’re ready to use it, right? Not exactly.
Your estate plan isn’t finished just because your attorney has drawn up a will. Proper asset titling is the next step.
Transfer on death (TOD) accounts (also known as Totten trusts, in-trust-for accounts and payable-on-death accounts) allow spouses to pass small estates in a simple, convenient way.
