Blog & Updates

If you suspect that your child lacks the ability to make sound financial decisions, one solution is to leave their inheritance in a trust and appoint a trustee to make financial decisions on their behalf.A trust allows you to appoint a trusted individual (called a trustee) to manage your child’s inheritance. The trustee can be anyone from a family member or friend to a hired professional trustee, such as a bank. The trustee has the authority and responsibility to manage the trust assets and make distributions in accordance with criteria selected by you. A trust can be established during your lifetime […]

Even as public restrictions are being lifted, employers continue to deal with COVID-19 issues in the workplace.  In the Summer of 2020, the issues faced by many employers were working remotely and how to handle the paid leave provisions of the FFCRA.  Now, as the spread of COVID-19 continues to slow and vaccines have been developed, employers are facing new issues.  The primary issues facing employers as we come out of the COVID-19 haze is the ability of an employer to require employees to be vaccinated and the best advice about masks.  In May the CDC issued new guidance on […]

For more than a year, the COVID-19 has impacted all businesses.  Amid the recent vaccine efficacy and a nationwide decrease in COVID-19 cases, much of society seems to be inching closer to what was once considered “business as usual.” Nevertheless, assorted sets of guidelines on mask requirements have left many businesses and workplaces unsure as to whether or not mask requirements will remain a part of “business as usual” in the wake of the recent pandemic.For Indiana businesses and residents, more than a month ago, on April 6, 2021, Governor Holcomb ended the State’s mask mandate.  Most Indiana counties followed […]

I meet with many clients every year who wish to plan for their after-death gifting. The gifting of assets using a Last Will and Testament is responsible and essential, but it does not go far enough. What about your family’s emotional well-being? Do you need an Emotional Will?An Emotional Will is not a legal document, and not even a single document at all. It is a way of thinking about the emotional and practical challenges your family will face after you are gone and then preparing to ease those challenges. For example, your legal and financial documents should be updated […]

Q:        What is all this talk about “the loss of a step up in basis”; and, why is it so important?A:        The loss of a step up in basis relates to the state and federal (long-term) capital gains tax; and, it can potentially have quite a lot to do with estate planning.  In Indiana, this tax is at 3.23%, but for most people, the federal capital gains tax is 15% (0% if you make less than $40,000 and 20% if you make more than $445,850).  These rates are applied to real property you own that increases in value […]

The first and best alternative to guardianship is good planning. If possible, appoint a Health Care Representative and Durable Power of Attorney well before you ever need help with medical or financial decisions. If making those appointments is no longer an option, Indiana now endorses the use of lesser restrictive alternatives prior to the appointment of a guardian. Those alternatives include but are not limited to, the entry of a supported decision-making agreement; technological assistance; appointment of a representative payee; appointment of a health care representative; or a power of attorney. The goal of any lesser restrictive alternative is to […]

The answer is:  Now!  It is never too early to start planning for nursing home care.  Even young married couples or individuals should start planning. Accidents or the sudden onset of serious incapacitating health problems afflict even the young and may require nursing home care.  For the young, married, or single, it is important to plan for possible nursing home stays by having in place proper powers of attorney for financial matters and health care, and perhaps, by also investing in long-term care insurance.  With seniors, long-term care insurance may not be an option either due to its cost or […]