When a gift is made, the fair market value of the gift must be determined for federal gift tax purposes. The fair market value of a gift is important to determine whether the donor’s gift exceeds the annual gift tax exclusion amount ($15,000 per person per year in both 2019 and 2020), and if so, […]
Aretha Franklin’s heirs are embroiled in a court battle due to several handwritten documents that the Queen of Soul wrote before her death. The issue at hand is: Are these handwritten documents valid wills under Michigan law? Shortly after Aretha’s death in August 2018, no will could be found, which meant that Aretha’s assets would […]
When we think of children blowing through trust funds, we often envision the rich and famous. The reality, though, is that everyday folks waste vast inheritances, too. Take, for example, Mary McClelland who, throughout her 20s, squandered her tri-annual $5,000 and $10,000 payments from her grandfather’s investments on traveling and shopping and ran out of […]
Let’s say you have been named trustee of a loved one’s trust. Now, you’ve just found out how much time and work it will take to fulfill your trustee responsibilities and duties. How much should you be paid to be trustee? Because every situation is unique, there are no hard and fast rules in Wisconsin […]
Perhaps a friend or loved one has recently passed away and has named you as the trustee of their trust. You may be wondering, “What does it mean to be a trustee?” Your job as “trustee” makes you responsible for carrying out the terms of the trust. In a nutshell, think of this job as stepping […]
