The Subprime Debacle: Act 2, Part 2 They Knew What They Were Selling Warning to Mr. Robert Rubin and Management Popping Through It's Time for Some Putback Payback The Worst Deal of the Decade? And Now to the World Series At the end of last week's letter on the whole mortgage foreclosure mess...
Readers with homes or other property in more than one state need to give special attention to their estate plans. Each state has different rules and requirements, and your estate might have to run probate proceedings in each state. There is more work involved for either you or your executor or both....
Home prices are down, and inventories of unsold homes are high in many areas. These are buyer’s markets. That makes this an ideal time to buy a home, or to help a grandchild buy that first home or move up to a larger home. Even better, there is a tax incentive that leverages the help you provide...
Posted to
Retirement Watch
by
Bob Carlson
on
09-10-2009
Filed under:
Filed under: Estate Planning, tax-free gifts, taxable gifts, gifts, Carlson, Bob Carlson, homes, grandkids, annual exclusion, grandchildren, mortgages
Paying off the mortgage used to be part of the American dream and a prerequisite to retirement. Then, times changed. Debt management and the use of leverage spread from businesses to personal finance. It was not unusual for people to enter retirement with mortgages and other debt with no plans to become...
Last week we discussed how today’s economic distress creates estate planning opportunities. Because of today’s reduced asset values, estate owners can shift assets out of their estates tax at much lower tax cost than they could have a year or two ago. We went over basic strategies for taking...
Posted to
Retirement Watch
by
Bob Carlson
on
02-20-2009
Filed under:
Filed under: Bob Carson, Estate Planning, estates, Estate tax, tax-free gifts, taxable gifts, gifts, Carlson, Bob Carlson, wills, income taxes, trusts, homes, estate taxes, grandkids, annual exclusion, grandchildren, financial crisis, investments, portfolios
Family limited partnerships have been a key element in many estate plans for decades. The FLP provides an array of benefits to the estate owner, not the least of which are tax reduction plus continuing control of the assets. Those benefits and the popularity of FLPs are why the IRS has been fighting...
Posted to
Retirement Watch
by
Bob Carlson
on
09-26-2008
Filed under:
Filed under: Bob Carson, Estate Planning, estates, Estate tax, tax-free gifts, taxable gifts, gifts, Carlson, Bob Carlson, wills, trusts, homes, estate taxes, grandkids, real estate, grandchildren, retirement, retirement plans, creditor protection, asset protection, business sales, selling a business, family limited partnerships, partnerships
Home prices are down, and inventories of unsold homes are high in many areas. These are buyer’s markets. That makes this an ideal time to buy a home, or to help a grandchild buy that first home or move up to a larger home. Despite the decline in prices, buying a home still is a struggle for many...