Blog - "Altman Speaks"

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 […]

Are Debts Inherited? ¿Se Heredan Las Deudas?

In an article with Yahoo! EN ESPAÑOL, award-winning estate planner, Gary Altman, Esq., answers questions about what happens to debts of the deceased. The full article can be viewed (in Spanish) here. Gary's complete responses are below: 60% of Americans will die without having a legitimate will in place. Even more shocking is that, according to a 2004 survey […]

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 […]

May is Older Americans Month!

Little known fact: May is Older Americans Month. Here's a passage from Administration on Aging's web site, detailing the History of Older Americans Month: When Older Americans Month was established in 1963, only 17 million living Americans had reached their 65th birthdays. About a third of older Americans lived in poverty and there were few […]

A Cautionary Tale - Do Not Put Off Estate Planning

The biggest hurdle facing estate planners is proscrationation. No one expects anything bad to happen. Most figure they can wait one more day, one more week, one more month to do estate planning. Some opt to buy that flat screen TV or go on another vacation rather than to do estate planning. In fairness, most of […]

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Recent Posts

LegalZoom and Washington State Legal Update

Do-It-Yourself Estate Planning – A New Low

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

Are Debts Inherited? ¿Se Heredan Las Deudas?

The Death of Baseball Icon, George Steinbrenner

Three Senators Call For Billionaire Estate Surtax

Alaska Latest State To Pre-Validate Wills

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

May is Older Americans Month!

A Cautionary Tale - Do Not Put Off Estate Planning

« Previous 1 … 66 67 68 69 70 … 78 Next »