Blog - "Altman Speaks"

Feel Good Friday: Facebook Offers Users More Control of Their Digital Afterlife

We've spoken before about planning for your "Digital Afterlife" - what becomes of your online accounts, such as social media, after you die. Until now, Facebook has permitted pages of those deceased to be memorialized, which allowed the user's Friends to continue making posts on their timeline if their security settings already allowed for it. (Some people […]

The Robin Williams Estate: Words Matter!

Robin Williams’ estate plan is now being challenged by his widow. Initially, his plan seemed complete - anticipatory of all possible events, and well thought out. However, it was not specific and detailed enough to avoid a challenge by his widow. Robin Williams left behind three surviving children, two ex-wives, and a widow. He left […]

Have You Named Your Beneficiaries? Do You Need to Update Your Beneficiaries?

Too often, clients fail to ensure someone is named on beneficiary designations for their assets. This type of simple planning can prevent potential long, drawn out, expensive litigation. Recently, the United States District Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld a District Court’s decision to award the proceeds of a life insurance policy to […]

Avoiding Probate in Virginia & Washington D.C.

If you live in or around the D.C. Beltway, it can often seem like one state with lots of traffic. Of course, the D.C. Metro area is comprised of the State of Maryland, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Each one is a separate and distinct jurisdiction with its own sovereign laws. […]

Beware of the Withholding Tax: What You Need to Know About Maryland Form MW505AE

We recently had a client come in whose surviving parent passed away. Our client, as Executor of the Estate, is in the process of selling the residential home. Another client came in a few days later, because she and her husband are moving out of the area. What many people are not aware of, is […]

Feel Good Friday: Insuring a Better World Fund

Yesterday morning I went to a breakfast for a new charitable fund. The "Insuring a Better World Fund" will accept donations of unwanted life insurance policies and the donor can direct where the death benefit will go. The donor gets an income tax donation on the policy. The fund pays all premiums. This is a very simple […]

More from Orlando: Even When Estate Taxes Are Irrelevant, Planning is Still Critical

Today I overheard a couple of lawyers discussing future tax legislation and what they believe the tax law should be. Given that this week at Heckerling has been based on the premise that very few individuals will ever be subject to estate tax (less than .5% of the population), I am once more reminded that a future tax law […]

Greetings from Orlando...

For the past 20 years, I have gone to the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning. Originally in Miami Beach, it moved to Orlando 10 years ago. This is the biggest gathering of estate planning professionals each year. Over the course of 5 days, there are numerous presentations about what is new on estate planning.This year, […]

The Legendary Stuart Scott

Like most American sports enthusiasts, I have spent a large number of hours over the years watching Sports Center and other programming on ESPN, so when Stuart Scott died this past weekend, it came as a blow. I had no particular connection to him, nor do I put TV broadcasters in my pantheon of heroes. […]

Feel Good Friday: How Thankful We Are...

We at Altman and Associates are so grateful for our wonderful clients and colleagues in the financial community. Thank you to everyone who has supported our estate planning efforts in 2014. With your continued loyalty and support, 2015 will be another wonderful year. May you have peace, joy and good health in the New Year! We are here for you! […]

« Previous 1 … 39 40 41 42 43 … 77 Next »

Subscribe

Receive our new blog articles in your email inbox.

Name*
First Last
Email*
CAPTCHA
Comments
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Categories

Recent Posts

Feel Good Friday: Facebook Offers Users More Control of Their Digital Afterlife

The Robin Williams Estate: Words Matter!

Have You Named Your Beneficiaries? Do You Need to Update Your Beneficiaries?

Avoiding Probate in Virginia & Washington D.C.

Beware of the Withholding Tax: What You Need to Know About Maryland Form MW505AE

Feel Good Friday: Insuring a Better World Fund

More from Orlando: Even When Estate Taxes Are Irrelevant, Planning is Still Critical

Greetings from Orlando...

The Legendary Stuart Scott

Feel Good Friday: How Thankful We Are...

« Previous 1 … 39 40 41 42 43 … 77 Next »