Blog - "Altman Speaks"

Court Decision | Importance to Keep Estate Plan Up-to-Date

In a very common scenario, a participant in an ERISA plan (any qualified retirement plan) names his spouse as the beneficiary of his pension plan. The parties subsequently divorce, and although the divorce decree purports to disclaim any interest the spouse may have in the pension, the participant fails to change his beneficiary designation. When […]

Factoring Debt Into Your Estate Plan

In an exclusive interview with CreditCards.com, estate lawyer, Gary Altman, Esq./CFP, discusses what to do with joint credit cards upon death of a spouse. Altman has always advised against having joint credit card accounts and even against spouses taking authorized user cards on each others' accounts. "From an estate perspective, joint credit implies a 100 percent obligation […]

Family Spending Accounts – Taking Advantage of Gift Tax Exclusions

As we’ve been discussing, both the estate tax and the generation-skipping transfer tax were repealed at the end of 2009. The twist being that, at any time, Congress may vote to retroactively re-instate the tax, or, if no action is taken this year, it may automatically renew in 2011. That said, there is still a gift tax for people who […]

Updates In Regards to the Estate Tax Mess

As my readers are aware, all of us in the estate planning community have been following the mess that Congress created by not passing any sort of law to set the estate tax limits at a permanent level. As most people now know, the estate tax was repealed effective, January 1, 2010, but is scheduled […]

"Estate Planning: The Gift that Keeps on Giving" – Take Time this Holiday to Discuss Estate Planning with Your Family

Great food, family get-togethers, holiday cheer…estate planning?!? While it may seem like a less than ideal topic for a fireside chat, estate planning is critically important and the holidays can present a golden opportunity to get things in motion. Here are few things to consider: The More, The Merrier – With siblings scattered across the […]

The 10 Most Obscure Tax Deductions You Should be Using this Year

A colleague of mine, Adrienne Carlson, forwarded me a link to her latest blog post, “The Ten Most Obscure Tax Deductions You Should Be Using this Year” and it’s worth the read: There are tax deductions out there for just about everyone imaginable. Unfortunately, many of them go underreported because few people are even aware of their […]

"Estate Tax 2010" – Congress Didn’t Act - Where Does This Leave Us?

The final year of The 2001 Tax Act (EGTRRA 2001) is now upon us, and estate tax repeal, at least temporarily and unless reinstated retroactively, is upon us. Quite frankly, I never expected this to happen. I, along with many of my colleagues, anticipated Congress to act before this. Now, we have to consider that, […]

New to Estate Planning?

Knowing that your family and assets are protected and that your wishes will be honored...That's true peace of mind." Read our Note to New Clients.

Death of a Loved One

Losing a loved one is hard enough without the added stress of settling an estate. Don't take any action without calling us first. We'll guide you through the legal process, ensuring that things are handled the right way." Read more about losing of a loved one.

Update on Estate Tax: Senate Fails to Get it Done in 2009

As we have been following, the federal estate tax is set to disappear in 2010. The push by Democrats to extend the current rate permanently failed to pass a short- term extension to override the tax’s expiration date last week. Currently the top rate is 45%, with a $3.5 million exclusion rate. Per the 2001 […]

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