All posts by Janet Colliton
New Federal Law For Corporations Requires Filing With Treasury
In case there were not enough corporate laws requiring disclosures and filings a relatively new federal law passed by Congress and made effective January 1, 2024 will affect many small companies and require disclosure of the company’s “beneficial owners.” The law labelled the Corporate Transparency Act aims to combat illicit activities such as tax evasion […]
Continue readingWhat You Should Know When an Executor Sells a House
You could have been named Executor in a Will or you could be a prospective buyer of what has been a family residence. From the perspective of an Executor/Executrix, selling the family house can be one of the most significant and one of the most demanding jobs associated with settling his/her parent’s estate. Arranging for […]
Continue readingShould You Place Conditions on Inheritances
When it comes time to write your Will you might have certain specific goals in mind. Some of those goals can outlive your own life. How far you can control from the grave is a subject of regular concern. You might want your granddaughter, Allison, to get married or your son, John, finally to graduate […]
Continue readingMedicare, Medicaid or Hospice for At-Home Care
If you are seeking at-home care assistance for a family member that is paid either in full or in part by the government you can find that the system is complicated and, unless your loved one fits within one of the designated categories, you may be limited to paying from your family member’s asset or […]
Continue readingShould You Decide On A Trust or a Will?
Sometimes we receive calls at the office requesting a Will with estate documents (Financial Power of Attorney, Health Care Power and Living Will also referred to as Advanced Directives). In that case a potential client might say “I don’t want anything complicated. Just the basics.” Sometimes, often after having heard a speaker either in person […]
Continue readingDo You Really Want To Handle Probating An Estate On Your Own?
You might have a job or just have retired and you learn suddenly that your Great Aunt Lucy died and named you Executor of her Will. How hard could it be you ask to resolve an estate by yourself without professional advice or a competent professional beside you? You might decide to strike out on […]
Continue readingWhen Your Children Do Not Want What You Have
Michelle Singletary, a regular columnist with the Washington Post, recently penned a Personal Finance column comically titled “Our kids don’t want our paid-off house – or our ashes…” See Advice by Michelle Singletary, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/11/17/kids-sell-parents-inherited- house/ November 17, 2023. The gist of the article was, as might be imagined, the idea that some of the possessions […]
Continue readingWhat You Need To Know About Your Credit Score
Credit scores are mentally placed in a category both unknown and unknowable. This is pretty remarkable considering most average Americans can locate their credit score (or more properly their credit scores since there are many of them) through online searches. This can be accomplished either through an online service such as Credit Karma or by […]
Continue readingYour Estate Plan Does Not End With a Will
Last year I began the New Year with a column reminding readers that a Will is not the same as an Estate Plan. The thought was important enough – and still is – that I thought it worthwhile to repeat and add to it. When you chose to write a Will you have taken an […]
Continue readingWhat It Takes To Complete a 401(k) Beneficiary Form
A few years ago during a prior Congress and prior presidential administration a federal law known as the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement or SECURE Act, became effective on January 1, 2020. Generally speaking, it delayed the required minimum distribution (RMD) age to 72 for seniors and established a 10 year distribution rule […]
Continue readingWhat Do You Want To Do In Retirement?
An outgoing columnist with the Washington Post recently penned an article entitled “Individual Retirement Accounts: Readers Offer Post-Career Advice.” Washington Post, John Kelly, December 17. 2023. The title might have been misconstrued to indicate there was some tax planning involved but, far from it, the columnist broached a subject surprisingly not very often discussed. It […]
Continue readingMedical Costs Are Expensive Especially For the Uninsured
If you ever wondered about medical bills and summaries you receive after a recent hospitalization or summaries received from your insurance carrier concerning recent medical expenses and then question the difference between the amount charged and the amount owed then this column might help. Note, however, first, that medical bills are mystifying to all of […]
Continue readingSocial Security Benefits and Medicare Premiums Both Up For 2024
As the 2023 calendar year comes to an end the Social Security Administration and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services have both issued their figures for the new 2024 year. It would probably come as no surprise that both Social Security benefits and Medicare Part B Premiums and Deductibles are trending upward. The impact […]
Continue readingQCD Year End Tax Strategies Expanded
For taxpayers who stress over annual Required Minimum Distributions and are also inclined to charitable giving, Qualified Charitable Distributions or QCD’s have been a useful tool to accommodate both relief over federal income tax angst and the desire to donate. QCD’s can use the federal tax code to benefit taxpayers, mostly in the upper income […]
Continue readingTax Considerations When You Own a Second Residence
When you own a home and, after your last vacation, are considering buying another residence it should come as no surprise that there are tax and financial consequences, both positive and otherwise to owning more than one property. You might have been smitten by the location or just decided you wanted a change without giving […]
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