Our California readers are no doubt aware that there is barely more than one week left and Congress and the White House have yet to agree on a plan to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. If nothing is done, the Bush era tax cuts will revert to their previous rates and across the board cuts …. Read More
At midnight on December 31, 2012, more is going to happen than just the Times Square ball dropping and the calendar turning the page to January 1, 2013. The current gift tax exemption is also set to expire — barring any Congressional changes which may or may not happen post-election. Currently couples can shelter $10 million …. Read More
There is a common misconception that one only needs estate planning if one is a California silicon valley mogul or movie star earning millions each year. That simply is not the case, as the story of one unlikely couple will illustrate. A husband and wife, postal worker and reference librarian respectively, lived in a modest …. Read More
What is a wealthy American to do? A temporary Internal Revenue Service tax exemption that was passed in 2010 is set to expire at the end of 2012. Will it be renewed? Will it truly expire? Only Congress knows for sure, and even they don’t know. Those who wish to pass along $ 5.12 million …. Read More
Recently, a same-sex couple thought they were doing everything right. They had been together nearly 25 years and were married in San Francisco when it became legal to do so. They each named the other as beneficiary on life insurance policies. Their property was in both their names. However, they moved to another state that …. Read More
