I am usually asked this question when consulting with a new client regarding estate planning. In true, classic attorney fashion, the answer is, “it depends.” It depends on an individual’s specific situation, family makeup, assets, and goals. Ho…
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Marital deduction trusts used to be a very popular estate planning tool for married couples whose gross estate would potentially be subject to federal estate tax. Such trusts allowed married persons to effectively double the federal estate tax exclus…
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The “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” was approved by Congress and went into effect on January 1, 2018 making significant changes to business tax and personal income tax starting with the 2018 tax year. For businesses, the maximum corporate tax rate for C…
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As part of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act (the “Act”), passed in December of 2017, the lifetime exemption amount for estate, gift, and generation-skipping taxes was doubled. For 2018, the lifetime exemption amount for estate and gift taxes of $…
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The IRS has announced the estate and gift tax exemption amounts for 2018. The lifetime exemption amount for estate and gift taxes is $5.6 million per individual. That is an increase from $5.49 million per individual in 2017. This means that an indivi…
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For many years now Michigan has respected the right of marital partners to waive the statutory rights that are conferred upon them upon the death of a spouse. For example, if a spouse dies and leaves by their Will all of their assets to their childre…
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Here at Plachta, Murphy & Associates (“PMA”), we are always striving to provide the best service possible to our valued clients as well as serving our community. Every so often, we get recognized for our efforts and we thought we̵…
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Are you overwhelmed dealing with the legal, medical and physical needs of an aging parent or a medically challenged family member? Are you looking ahead to when you need to care for a family member and wondering how to prepare? You’re not alone. Th…
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Effective June 27, 2016, the Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (“the Act”) allows an individual to designate in their estate planning documents a fiduciary that is authorized to access their digital assets and computer devices. This new esta…
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Michigan has recently passed legislation that allows an individual to designate in their estate planning documents a “Funeral Representative” (“FR”). Effective June 27, 2016, the Funeral Representative Designation Act (“the…
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