Archive for February, 2010
Roth IRA Conversion Rules of Thumb
As a professional advisor, I hate giving “It depends” advice as much as clients hate hearing it. That’s why I particularly appreciated a meeting I had last week with Marc Angle, from Bernstein Global Wealth Management, on Roth IRA conversions. Marc actually had some rules of thumb about when converting a traditional IRA to a [...]
10 Things About Estate Planning for Business Owners
1. The Hardest Decisions. For business owners, the business is often the largest (or only) valuable asset of the estate. Who should inherit the business? How much direct control should they have over the business? What if they are bad business men or women? What if they don’t want to continue the business? How important is [...]
The 4 W’s of Estate Planning
All estate planning involves answering the four W’s—Who, What, When, and Where. WHO . . . …will make decisions about your health and finances if you cannot? …have you named as beneficiary of your life insurance, 401ks, and IRAs? …will take care of your affairs as executor or trustee? …will take care of minor [...]
Florida Legislature to the Rescue!
A number of sources (including Forbes, most prominently) report that the Florida Legislature will take up a bill aimed at bringing sense to the chaotic 2010 estate tax gap. As I previously wrote (here), the one-year estate tax hiatus may cause many wills and trusts to produce gifting consequences that were never intended by the [...]
10 Things About Creditors’ Claims in Florida Probate
1. Put It in Writing. The creditor of a deceased debtor must file a Statement of Claim with the probate court in which the debtor’s estate is being probated. The Statement of Claim must include a brief statement of the basis of the claim, including whether or not the claim has matured. 2. Racing the [...]
Featured Professional: Dan Gallogly
GALLOGLY AUDITING & CONSULTING, LLC Gallogly Auditing & Consulting, LLC was formed in 2004 by Dan Gallogly, CPA. After working as a managing partner and CPA for nearly 20 years in traditional, large accounting firms, Dan saw a need for a unique Orlando CPA firm, one that did much more than audits and [...]
Asset Protection for Everyone
Jonathan Alpers, a leading asset protection attorney (and prolific blogger), recently posted the following: Sometimes The “Low-Risk Spouse” Gets Sued: Why Effective Asset Protection Is For The Whole Family. I couldn’t say it better.
No Estate Tax? Think Again.
Much has been made about the fact that there is no Federal estate tax for individuals who die during 2010, but that doesn’t mean that the estate of a 2010 decedent escapes all taxes. The estate is liable for any deficit in Federal (and possibly state) income taxes for income earned by the decedent in [...]
10 Things About the Board of Directors
1. Representative Democracy. The primary purpose of the Board of Directors is to represent the shareholders, to protect their investments, and to ensure that they receive an adequate return. Directors are elected by the shareholders to serve terms of one or more years, concurrently or staggered, as provided in the Bylaws. 2.. The Big Picture. The Board [...]