We are often asked, “What is an estate plan?” An estate plan can mean different things depending on your unique personal and financial situation. We structure your estate plan based on many things, such as whether you are single, married, or divorced; whom you want your estate to pass to upon your death; and the […]
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 […]
Under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will provide financial assistance for COVID-19-related funeral expenses incurred after January 20, 2020. FEMA estimates that qualifying families can expect reimbursements of $3,000 to $7,000 out of the program’s total […]
The estate planning team at O’Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong and Laing, S.C. is safely helping clients create estate plans, or update existing estate plans, during this COVID-19 crisis. Estate planning documents must comply with Wisconsin’s strict signing requirements to be legally enforceable. For example, some documents require two witnesses or a notary to witness a […]
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 […]
