​Confused about the differences between a will and a trust?  If so, you are not alone. While it is always wise to contact experts like us, it is also important to understand the basics. Here is a quick and simple reference guide:
What a Revocable Living Trust Can Do – That a Will Cannot

• Avoid conservatorship and guardianship. A revocable living trust allows you to name your spouse, partner, child, or other trusted person to manage your money and property, that has been properly transferred to the trust, should you become unable to manage your own affairs. A will only becomes effective when you die, so a will is useless in avoiding conservatorship and guardianship proceedings during your life.

 

• Bypass probate. Accounts and property in a revocable living trust do not go through probate to be delivered to their intended recipient. Accounts and property that pass using a will guarantees probate. The probate process, designed to wrap up a person’s affairs after satisfying outstanding debts, is public and can be costly and time consuming – sometimes taking years to resolve.

                       

• Maintain privacy after death. A will is a public document; a trust is not. Anyone, including nosey neighbors, predators, and the unscrupulous can discover what you owned and who is receiving the items if you have a will. A trust allows you to maintain your loved ones’ privacy after death. 

 

• Protect you from court challenges. Although court challenges to wills and trusts occur, attacking a trust is generally much harder than attacking a will because trust provisions are not made public.

                       
What a Will Can Do – That a Revocable Living Trust Cannot

Unaware executors may be exposed to potential personal liability.
The Internal Revenue Service has issued proposed regulations establishing a $67 fee for the issuance of an estate tax closing letter (also known as an IRS Letter 627). 
 
These letters provide an executor of an estate with evidence that the IRS has accepted a filed Form 706, “United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return,” and that the agency has closed its examination of the return...

The year 2020 was a continuous lesson in the need to prepare for the unpredictable. From the pandemic to natural disasters, businesses have faced numerous challenges that could force them to close. The most common emergencies that businesses typically face fall into three categories:

1. Natural disasters such as floods, fires, and earthquakes
2. Medical emergencies such as the current COVID-19 pandemic
3. Human-caused accidents resulting in physical or technological damage

 
The Small Business Administration estimates that 25 percent of businesses fail to reopen after an emergency or disaster.[1] In light of this uncertain period, it is essential to take proactive steps to prepare your business for an emergency. Here are the six main things you should keep in mind as you develop your business’s emergency plan...
 

Succession planning has always been an integral part of estate and retirement planning. For many business owners, especially those in closely held businesses, preparation for succession or the sale of their business is crucial for the owners’ financial future. In light of the global pandemic, we have a situation that’s changing the face of “normal” succession planning. This is also quite relevant to estate planning. If an individual is contemplating a near-term liquidation of a business interest, that may impact the type of estate planning that may be warranted. If an individual lives in a high tax state, consideration of transferring interests to a non-grantor trust in a no-tax state may also be warranted.
 
This Time Is Different
​​Although many business owners have weathered difficult times in the past, and perhaps rebuilt their businesses through several recessions, the current situation feels different. Some business owners experienced very bleak times following 9/11 and were able to recover. They survived the financial meltdown in 2008–2009. Now COVID-19. Business owners face a larger dilemma, which has many contemplating whether it is time to do something different.
​

​For individuals who own real estate, it is important to consider the best way to structure your ownership. When you are just starting out as an investor in real estate, you may hold title to the real estate personally, but that may not be the most advantageous method of ownership. Another option is to create a limited liability company (LLC) for your real estate ventures. An LLC is a type of legal business structure organized under your state’s law.
 
There are many important considerations to keep in mind as you decide whether to form an LLC to hold your real estate. Here are a few things to think about to help you make the best decision for your unique circumstances...

Following the first surge of COVID-19 cases in the United States, many businesses financially impacted by the pandemic have applied for federal funds through the federal government's Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). One key element of the PPP is loan forgiveness, but business owners who received PPP funds must apply for loan forgiveness. If you received funds and are in the process of requesting loan forgiveness, the Small Business Administration and the Treasury Department have introduced new guidance and changes to assist both lenders and PPP borrowers of $50,000 or less with the forgiveness process. The changes include

• a new simplified application,
• reductions in the information that lenders must receive, and
• an exemption from the reductions in the forgiveness amount that were tied to the reductions in the number of employees and their wages or salaries.

With a push by the Democratic party to return federal estate taxes to their historic norms, taxpayers need to act now before Congress passes legislation that could adversely impact their estates. Currently, the federal estate and gift tax exemption is set at $11.58 million per taxpayer. Assets included in a decedent’s estate that exceed the decedent’s remaining exemption available at death are taxed at a federal rate of 40 percent (with some states adding an additional state estate tax). However, each asset included in the decedent’s estate receives an income tax basis adjustment so that the asset’s basis equals its fair market value on the date of the decedent's death. Thus, beneficiaries realize capital gain upon the subsequent sale of an asset only to the extent of the asset’s appreciation since the decedent’s death. 
 
If the election results in a political party change, it could mean not only lower estate and gift tax exemption amounts, but also the end of the longtime taxpayer benefit of stepped-up basis at death. To avoid the negative impact of these potential changes, there are a few wealth transfer strategies it would be prudent to consider before the year-end. 
 
Intrafamily Notes and Sales ​

​The limited liability company (LLC) is a popular business structure for new businesses, but what does it really mean to own an LLC? LLCs provide unique opportunities to customize business ownership to fit the particular needs and circumstances of the owners. Here is what you should know about LLC ownership.
 
The Basics
The owners of LLCs are often called members. If a single person or a single business entity owns an LLC, it is called a single-member LLC. If multiple people or entities own an LLC, it is called a multimember LLC. LLCs can have an unlimited number of members. When ownership is established, the membership interests are usually expressed in one of two ways:

• by membership units similar to corporate shares
• by percentage

 
The terminology you choose to use for...

​In light of the current pandemic, many Americans are becoming aware of the importance of creating or updating their estate planning documents. With the extension of some states’ stay in place orders, it may be tempting to create your own documents all on your own. Whether you are considering writing your own will or using an online “do it yourself” (DIY) document creator, there are many reasons why this is one project you shouldn’t undertake without the help of a professional.
 
 
What is a DIY estate plan?
A DIY estate plan is something that you “do yourself” without the advice of an estate planning attorney. Someone who DIYs their own legal documents could be:

1. Handwriting a “will” themselves;
2. Downloading a “fill in the blank” document that they got on the internet; or
3. Using an online document generator that asks pre-set questions.

 
Below are five common mistakes associated with DIY estate plans.