Americans have enjoyed historically high estate tax exemption rates for most of the last twenty years. Such high exemption amounts have kept many of them from needing to seek out more advanced estate planning strategies to avoid estate taxes, which have been as high as 60 percent during those same years. However, it is uncertain […]
Beneficiaries
Changes to Financial Aid and What It Means for Grandparents from Austin Estate Planning Attorney Liz Nielsen
Continuing education is a tradition that many families are proud to pass onto each successive generation. For grandparents who want to leave a legacy to their grandchildren, the gift of a 529 college savings plan is an option. A 529 plan account can not only help a grandchild with educational expenses, it can also help grandparents […]
A Statement of Intent in Estate Planning Documents from Austin Estate Planning Attorney Liz Nielsen
The reasons you, as a trustmaker (in Texas referred to as a grantor), create a trust are certainly special and important to you, but your intent or purpose for creating a trust can also have significant legal ramifications. For this reason, it is often critical that a grantor express in writing a statement of intent, […]
Yours, Mine, and Ours: How Including a Pour-Over Trust Can Simplify Your Planning from Austin Estate Planning Attorney Liz Nielsen
A number of married couples think about their accounts and property as “yours, mine, and ours,” especially if either or both spouses have gotten or will be getting remarried, married late in life, or have brought or will be bringing significant amounts of money and property into the marriage. Deciding what should happen to all […]