Blog - "Altman Speaks"

Another Celebrity’s Death Fiasco

Dennis Hopper’s death in May has left his estate in chaos and open to a high-profile and expensive lawsuit. Hopper was married to his 5th wife, Victoria Duffy, back in 1996. They sign a pre-nuptial agreement that stated if Victoria and their daughter, Galen, were still living with Hopper at the time of his death, […]

Furry Beneficiaries - A Great Article in Private Wealth

From the September 2010 issue of Private Wealth - “Furry Beneficiaries” Some of the nation’s wealthiest people are leaving huge chunks of their estates to their pets—to the chagrin of their human relatives. By Robert Margolis She had a $15,000 Cartier diamond necklace, a $12,000 summer wardrobe, an Escalade and a driver, a full-time nanny, […]

Taking Advantage of the GRAT

October is almost here and NOW is the time to take advantage of a tax saving estate planning strategy known as a GRAT! GRATs (grantor retained annuity trust) are vehicles used by estate planners when clients want to give a financial gift to children or grandchildren free of gift and estate taxes. Per today’s laws, the IRS […]

LegalZoom and Washington State Legal Update

It appears the Washington State Attorney General has dealt a blow to the company who claims it offers “Do-It-Yourself” legal documents online. The State of Washington recently entered into an Assurance of Discontinuance or an agreement relating to the business practices of LegalZoom. This agreement prohibits the company from engaging in the unauthorized practice of […]

Do-It-Yourself Estate Planning – A New Low

This morning, I noticed a Google advertisement that really got my blood boiling. The ad was for LegalZoom – one of those online companies touting Do-It-Yourself legal documents, including estate planning. It’s bad enough that they encourage people to play attorney for a day, but this new ad even suggests that you can “Make a […]

A Special Needs Trust is a Valuable Estate Planning and Investment Tool

There is much confusion over the function of a Special Needs Trust. Special Needs Trusts (sometimes referred to as Supplemental Needs Trusts) are designed to provide benefits to, and protect the assets of, physically disabled or mentally disabled persons while still allowing them to be qualified for and receive governmental health care benefits, especially long-term […]

The Death of Baseball Icon, George Steinbrenner

This week, we lost one of baseball’s iconic owners, George Steinbrenner. He bought the New York Yankees from CBS over 30 years ago at a price tag of about 10 million dollars. As a long-term Yankee fan, I, like most New Yorkers, have had a love-hate relationship with George Steinbrenner and his handling of the […]

Three Senators Call For Billionaire Estate Surtax

Three U.S. Senators are calling for a 10% “Billionaire’s Surtax.” In a letter addressed to their colleagues, the three senators who are advocating for the tax write, “According to Forbes Magazine, there are only 403 billionaires in the U.S. with a collective net worth of $1.3 trillion. Clearly, the heirs to these multibillion fortunes should be […]

Alaska Latest State To Pre-Validate Wills

Alaska has officially joined the short list of states (North Dakota, Arkansas and Ohio) that allow people to safe-guard their wills against challenges after death. The law, signed this month by Governor Sean Parnell, allows people to “prove” a will in probate and also have trusts declared valid. The idea is that this will protect […]

"Pay Now, Die Later" - Congress Contemplates a Prepaid Estate Tax

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Congress is contemplating a "prepaid" estate tax. It is unclear exactly how such a model would work, but one scenario would allow people to create “prepayment trusts” in which they'd put assets into the trust for five years and pay a 35% capital-gains tax on the gains of […]

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