A great site for understanding trusts
www.ultratrust.com
We don't recommend using these people as we don't know them but the information is great.
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Medicaid Planning
Most people do not have put away enough liquid assets to pay for an average stay in a nursing home that can run upwards of 150,000 or more per year.
Long term care insurance if purchased can pay all or most of the bills.
but what if there is a modest amount of cash and no long term care insurance.
Many people will go to an attorney have some planning done to maintain some assets to the family and be eligible for medicaid.
There are many strategies that are employed. We can refer you to a good elder planning lawyer for long term planning or emergencies.
Just call us at
617-964-4849
Visit our long term care planning page at www.planningltc.com
Most people do not have put away enough liquid assets to pay for an average stay in a nursing home that can run upwards of 150,000 or more per year.
Long term care insurance if purchased can pay all or most of the bills.
but what if there is a modest amount of cash and no long term care insurance.
Many people will go to an attorney have some planning done to maintain some assets to the family and be eligible for medicaid.
There are many strategies that are employed. We can refer you to a good elder planning lawyer for long term planning or emergencies.
Just call us at
617-964-4849
Visit our long term care planning page at www.planningltc.com
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Kidney Transplant
My Good friend and client,Jeffrey Borenstein has kidney failure and needs a kidney transplant.
He is searching through all channels for a kidney.
Right now he is on dialysis and otherwise is in good health.
This is the link to a recent article written about him in the local newspapers.
If you can help in any way, let me know or contact Jeffrey directly.
http://brookline.wickedlocal.com/article/20141120/News/141129694
My Good friend and client,Jeffrey Borenstein has kidney failure and needs a kidney transplant.
He is searching through all channels for a kidney.
Right now he is on dialysis and otherwise is in good health.
This is the link to a recent article written about him in the local newspapers.
If you can help in any way, let me know or contact Jeffrey directly.
http://brookline.wickedlocal.com/article/20141120/News/141129694
Friday, October 24, 2014
Guaranteed issue life insurance
There is a type of of permanent life insurance that does not require any medical evidence. It is usually issued between ages 50 and 80. The full death benefit is not payable usually till the third year, but the the rates are guaranteed,
Many people buy this insurance without realizing that they could qualify for a much better plan.
The guaranteed issue plans are designed for uninsurable people.
If one is insurable,there are much better plans available.
How can you know what type of plan to buy.
The first thing to do is is find a knowledgeable insurance agent that is familiar with dealing with older people.
Many times an informal application can be submitted where the insurance company will obtain the medical file and then decide what rate to offer.
Many times,it will be a much better program than the guaranteed issue plan.
It can also show that the applicant was uninsurable and guaranteed issue is the best option.
We can help evaluate your situation and decide what type of life insurance is best for you.
As posted on Linked in
Many people buy this insurance without realizing that they could qualify for a much better plan.
The guaranteed issue plans are designed for uninsurable people.
If one is insurable,there are much better plans available.
How can you know what type of plan to buy.
The first thing to do is is find a knowledgeable insurance agent that is familiar with dealing with older people.
Many times an informal application can be submitted where the insurance company will obtain the medical file and then decide what rate to offer.
Many times,it will be a much better program than the guaranteed issue plan.
It can also show that the applicant was uninsurable and guaranteed issue is the best option.
We can help evaluate your situation and decide what type of life insurance is best for you.
As posted on Linked in
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Massachusetts Estate Tax
The Mass estate tax is quite complicated and can be very costly.
Even though the tax does not start Till the estate exceeds 1,000,000, once it does the tax is effective for amounts less than 1,000,000.
Here are some examples of the estate tax that starts at .8% and tops out at 16%.
Size of the taxable estate Estimated tax
400,000. 10,000
800,000. 25,000
1,000,000. 35,000
1,500000. 70,000
2,000,000. 100,000
Even though the federal estate tax this year(2014) exempts 5,340,000
.from tax,the Massachusetts tax can be very significant.
We have several techniques to minimize this tax.
We would be happy to review your situation and work with you on reducing or eliminating this tax.
The Mass estate tax is quite complicated and can be very costly.
Even though the tax does not start Till the estate exceeds 1,000,000, once it does the tax is effective for amounts less than 1,000,000.
Here are some examples of the estate tax that starts at .8% and tops out at 16%.
Size of the taxable estate Estimated tax
400,000. 10,000
800,000. 25,000
1,000,000. 35,000
1,500000. 70,000
2,000,000. 100,000
Even though the federal estate tax this year(2014) exempts 5,340,000
.from tax,the Massachusetts tax can be very significant.
We have several techniques to minimize this tax.
We would be happy to review your situation and work with you on reducing or eliminating this tax.
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
The New Long Term Care Insurance
Since long term care insurance was conceived, it functioned like health insurance. If you were sick,
you collected from the policy and if you stayed well and never used it, the premiums were gone.
Many people who would have bought this insurance, did not because since they were never going to get sick, they were wasting their money.
The life insurance industry has come up with a solution to this dilemma. The policy is a combination of long term care and life insurance. Assume a policy of $500,000. If you get sick and need care,you have a pool of money that would usually pay up to $10,000 per month till the $500,000 was used up.
If there was never a long term care need, the life insurance would pay the $500,000 as a death benefit.
If $250,000 was used for long term care, then there would still be $250,000 towards life insurance.
On every case I have seen, the death benefit is always greater than the premiums paid.
Let us show you how this type of insurance can work for you.
Since long term care insurance was conceived, it functioned like health insurance. If you were sick,
you collected from the policy and if you stayed well and never used it, the premiums were gone.
Many people who would have bought this insurance, did not because since they were never going to get sick, they were wasting their money.
The life insurance industry has come up with a solution to this dilemma. The policy is a combination of long term care and life insurance. Assume a policy of $500,000. If you get sick and need care,you have a pool of money that would usually pay up to $10,000 per month till the $500,000 was used up.
If there was never a long term care need, the life insurance would pay the $500,000 as a death benefit.
If $250,000 was used for long term care, then there would still be $250,000 towards life insurance.
On every case I have seen, the death benefit is always greater than the premiums paid.
Let us show you how this type of insurance can work for you.
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Universal Life insurance And Low Interest Rates
Many people bought universal life policies when interest rates were much higher than they are now. Most people were given a computer printout at the point of sale which showed that based on the current interest rates, the policies would last to age 100 or longer.
The problem is that many of those policies have not been reviewed and based on low interest rates in effect for years, the polices will not last the way they were projected.
Anyone who has a universal life policy should ask their agent or company for an in force ledger statement. This report will show how long the insurance will last based on current interest rates.
Many people will be surprised to find out that based on the premiums they are paying, the policies will fall short from the original projections.
These policies will require a higher premium to make them last.
When someone asks the company for the in force statement, they should ask for a printout which shows how much the premium should be to project the death benefit to last to age 100 or whatever age they want to see.
There is also a new type of universal life called guaranteed universal life. Sometimes an old universal life policy can have substantial cash in the policy and if this money was rolled into one of these new polices, the premium required to guarantee the policy will stay in force for as long as you want and can even be lower than the non guaranteed premium.
The downside of these policies is that the cash will be used up. However, when a policy pays a death benefit, the cash is kept by the insurance company. Usually you get the insurance or the cash, but not both.
Trustees that have older universal life policies in trusts they run should be very careful to make sure the policies are running properly and raise the premium when necessary. In force statements should be requested every year to make sure the policies will stay in force when they are needed.
We would be happy to help anyone look at their current policies and help them determine if the policies are running well. Of course any changes on companies depends on being in good health.
The good news for the old policies is that they will stay in force as long as the term cost is paid for.
Many people bought universal life policies when interest rates were much higher than they are now. Most people were given a computer printout at the point of sale which showed that based on the current interest rates, the policies would last to age 100 or longer.
The problem is that many of those policies have not been reviewed and based on low interest rates in effect for years, the polices will not last the way they were projected.
Anyone who has a universal life policy should ask their agent or company for an in force ledger statement. This report will show how long the insurance will last based on current interest rates.
Many people will be surprised to find out that based on the premiums they are paying, the policies will fall short from the original projections.
These policies will require a higher premium to make them last.
When someone asks the company for the in force statement, they should ask for a printout which shows how much the premium should be to project the death benefit to last to age 100 or whatever age they want to see.
There is also a new type of universal life called guaranteed universal life. Sometimes an old universal life policy can have substantial cash in the policy and if this money was rolled into one of these new polices, the premium required to guarantee the policy will stay in force for as long as you want and can even be lower than the non guaranteed premium.
The downside of these policies is that the cash will be used up. However, when a policy pays a death benefit, the cash is kept by the insurance company. Usually you get the insurance or the cash, but not both.
Trustees that have older universal life policies in trusts they run should be very careful to make sure the policies are running properly and raise the premium when necessary. In force statements should be requested every year to make sure the policies will stay in force when they are needed.
We would be happy to help anyone look at their current policies and help them determine if the policies are running well. Of course any changes on companies depends on being in good health.
The good news for the old policies is that they will stay in force as long as the term cost is paid for.
Who is considered a heavy drinker?
The CDC or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers men who have 15 or more drinks per week and women who have 8 or more drinks per week heavy drinkers.
The CDC defines a drink as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of liquor.
The definition is tighter for women because they are smaller and according to the CDC they metabolize less alcohol in their stomachs so more goes to the blood stream.
There are other definitions such as having 5 or more drinks at the same time.
The big difference is that if you get stopped by the police after having 2 drinks, you probably won't be charged for a DUI but 5 or more at one sitting will get you in jail.
Binge drinking for college kids is a big health problem with many hospitalizations and death.
Heavy drinking can lead to many types of medical problems especially liver problems.
Becoming an Alcoholic is always a risk for a heavy drinker.
Most people are in denial that they might be a heavy drinker.
The CDC is not recommending that people not drink at all but to be careful and not let alcohol become a problem for you.
The CDC or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers men who have 15 or more drinks per week and women who have 8 or more drinks per week heavy drinkers.
The CDC defines a drink as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of liquor.
The definition is tighter for women because they are smaller and according to the CDC they metabolize less alcohol in their stomachs so more goes to the blood stream.
There are other definitions such as having 5 or more drinks at the same time.
The big difference is that if you get stopped by the police after having 2 drinks, you probably won't be charged for a DUI but 5 or more at one sitting will get you in jail.
Binge drinking for college kids is a big health problem with many hospitalizations and death.
Heavy drinking can lead to many types of medical problems especially liver problems.
Becoming an Alcoholic is always a risk for a heavy drinker.
Most people are in denial that they might be a heavy drinker.
The CDC is not recommending that people not drink at all but to be careful and not let alcohol become a problem for you.
Friday, June 13, 2014
Required minimum distributions from retirement plans.
When you turn 70 there is a requirement that you start taking distributions from your retirement plans. There is a computation made each year to come up with the percentage of the total accounts that needs to be withdrawn and taxes paid.
I haven't been able to find an easy table to use so I made one.
The following is the percentage each year required to withdraw from age 70 to age 100
70 3.650 71 3.774 72 3.906 73 4.049 74 4.202 75 4.367 76 4.545 77 4.717 78 4.826
79 5.128 80 5.348 81 5.348 82 5.848 83 6.135 84 6.452 85 6.757 86 7.092 87 7.463
88 7.874 89 8.333 90 8.772 91 9.259 92 9.804 93 10.417 94 10.989 95 11.628
96 12.336 97 13.157 98 14.085 99 14.925 100 15.873
You need to add up the balances of all your retirement accounts,but the withdrawal can be from one or more accounts as long as the total is correct.
Remember,retirement accounts cannot be removed from your estate so depending on your situation, there can be a reduction up to to 70 to 75 % of the value.
Planning ahead can reduce these taxes.
We have strategies to help manage required minimum distributions and minimize the tax burden.
When you turn 70 there is a requirement that you start taking distributions from your retirement plans. There is a computation made each year to come up with the percentage of the total accounts that needs to be withdrawn and taxes paid.
I haven't been able to find an easy table to use so I made one.
The following is the percentage each year required to withdraw from age 70 to age 100
70 3.650 71 3.774 72 3.906 73 4.049 74 4.202 75 4.367 76 4.545 77 4.717 78 4.826
79 5.128 80 5.348 81 5.348 82 5.848 83 6.135 84 6.452 85 6.757 86 7.092 87 7.463
88 7.874 89 8.333 90 8.772 91 9.259 92 9.804 93 10.417 94 10.989 95 11.628
96 12.336 97 13.157 98 14.085 99 14.925 100 15.873
You need to add up the balances of all your retirement accounts,but the withdrawal can be from one or more accounts as long as the total is correct.
Remember,retirement accounts cannot be removed from your estate so depending on your situation, there can be a reduction up to to 70 to 75 % of the value.
Planning ahead can reduce these taxes.
We have strategies to help manage required minimum distributions and minimize the tax burden.
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