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It is important to make plans for what will happen to your pets after you pass away.

For many Americans pets are an essential and important part of their lives and families. Some pets today are treated as well as if not better than the humans in the family.

People will go to great lengths to make sure their pets have the best food and health care. There are even day spas for pets in many places.

However, as much as people care for their pets during their lives, most fail to think about and plan for what will happen to those very same pets after the owners pass away.

That lack of planning may mean that the pets are taken to a shelter...

Ben Franklin planned his estate carefully. He left behind a will that might be a good lesson.

Ben Franklin was famous for many things he did during his lifetime.

He is credited with writing almanacs, discovering electricity, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America and more.

One of the things that is not discussed as much, is what Franklin did in his will, through which he had to confront a problem many people face when planning their estates.

The problem?

What to do if you want someone to be able to use your property during life, but ensure that when that person passes away, the property goes to someone else of your...

When you start planning your estate, it is a good idea to ask yourself a few questions that will help you clarify your thinking.

If you have never engaged in the estate planning process, then getting started can seem somewhat overwhelming. There are many decisions you need to make concerning how your assets will be distributed.

Hiring a good estate planning attorney is essential to getting a good plan. The attorney can help guide you into making good decisions.

However, you do not need to wait until you see the attorney for the first time before making some key decisions.

Asking yourself the right questions can get you started.

Market...

Variation in prices can be attributed to number of choices and the choices people make.

Funeral services in the U.S. cost, on average, thousands of dollars with services, burial fees, coffins and flowers, as well as prices that vary by states, according to the Cronkite News in "Arizonians pay less for funeral services compared to rest of nation."{: target="_blank"}

The average cost of funeral services in Arizona and in nearby states are much cheaper than they are elsewhere. The primary reason for this is not because funeral homes charge that much less. It is because cremation is much more popular in those states, than in the rest of the...

Very few wills are actually contested in probate court. However, the chances of a legal battle over a will go up, when the estate is valuable. It also goes up, if family members do not get along for other reasons.

One of the main reasons that people hire estate planning attorneys is to prevent their families from fighting over their estates after they pass away. People want the attorneys to create estate plans that, if not completely unchallengeable, are at least airtight enough to minimize the possibility of challenges.

The reality is that for any random person, the overall likelihood of a will being contested are relatively small.

As...

The new tax law has left an important estate tax issue up to the IRS to determine. That is what to do if the estate tax exemption reverts to its previous level and the deceased has gifted more than that amount.

The recently passed tax reform bill required Congress to make several compromises because of budget limitations in the amount the bill could add to the deficit and avoid a possible filibuster by Democratic senators.

Those limitations prevented a complete elimination of the estate tax, as had long been proposed by Republicans in government.

The estate tax exemption has now been doubled. However, this could not be made permanent and...

Charitable remainder trusts can be a great vehicle for elderly people to downsize without paying a steep tax penalty. They can also be very dangerous, if not handled correctly.

One problem many older Americans have, is that they would like to retire, move or just downsize. However, the tax consequences of doing so can be difficult to get around.

An elderly couple that has lived in the same home for decades would have to pay capital gains taxes, if they sell the home. This could make it more difficult to sell the home and have the money to move somewhere else.

One way around this problem is to create a charitable remainder trust.

This is...

Federal estate tax gets the attention, but some states need focus as far as estate planning is concerned.

There are some states that still levy an estate tax and can be expensive places to pass away, according to Forbes in "Where Not To Die in 2018."{: target="_blank"}

Some states tie their exemption level to the federal government's, such as Hawaii and Maine. Those states get an automatic tax break.

Some other states have already passed legislation to do the same thing and other states have recently repealed their estate taxes.

Oregon and Massachusetts are tied for the lowest estate tax exemptions in the country at $1 million. Oregon's...

Congressional Republicans reached a final deal on a tax reform bill. They kept the estate tax in place, with an important modification.

One of the bigger issues with the Republican plans to reform federal taxes had to do with the estate tax. Most Republicans would like to see it done away with entirely.

The initial bill passed in the House of Representatives did just that, by phasing the estate tax out over a period of time. However, the Senate version of the bill was more cautious and just changed the exemption limit, while keeping the estate tax in place.

This was necessary because for procedural reasons, tax reform could only increase...

Many people who do not have to pay the federal estate tax are unaware that there is still a benefit to the spousal election that might benefit them in the future.

When talking about the estate tax exemption limit, estate planning attorneys often discuss two different numbers. They mention the individual exemption amount and the married couple exemption amount, which is double the individual number.

The reason they do this, is because of the spousal election.

When one spouse passes away, the surviving spouse can take what is called a spousal election which will give them the married couple's exemption limit when they pass away. It can be...

Some decisions to bequeath certain assets to people cannot be undone by creating a new will and changing who gets the assets.

One of the oldest principles of estate planning law is that people can always change their minds about what to do in their wills. All they need to do if they want to do something different, is create a new will reflecting their new desires.

It is best to destroy any copies of the old will. However, that is not strictly necessary. There are some times when people cannot change their minds about their wills.

One example is when someone has entered into a valid contract to leave something specific to someone else.

A...

The stock markets might have risen to record highs this year, but few Americans own enough stock to take advantage of it.

After Republicans passed their tax reform bill, some Republicans are indicating that they might be turning to entitlement reforms next.

Markets have risen to record highs this year. It seems like Americans have more in their retirement accounts than ever before.

However, while the total amount of money in retirement accounts might be at all-time highs, that money is heavily concentrated in a small percentage of the population, as Think Advisor discusses in "Trump Asks 'How's Your 401(k)?' But Most Voters Don't Have...

Before deciding whether or not to launch a legal challenge to a will or trust, it is important that you see an estate attorney to learn about no contest clause laws in your state.

Many wills and trusts today have what is known as a “no contest” clause. Including such a clause is standard procedure to help fend off any legal challenges to the contents of a will or trust.

What these clauses say is that anyone who receives an inheritance from a will or who is a beneficiary of a trust receives nothing, if they challenge the validity of something in the will or trust. They effectively disinherit anyone who is not satisfied with the assets t...

In the U.K. more and more people are having to pay the inheritance tax leading to an increase in people insuring against that possibility. Americans concerned about estate or inheritance taxes can do the same.

People seem to complain about estate and inheritance taxes more than any other form of taxation, especially if they are affected by the tax. There is something about taxing a person's assets after they pass away that rubs many people the wrong way.

This is true in the U.K. as well as the U.S.

In the U.K., the exemption limit for the inheritance tax is so low that many more people are having to pay the tax than ever before.

That has...

The best way to prevent your family from fighting over your estate, is to let them know what to expect from your estate plan. The conversation does not need to be exclusively about money.

Many different things can cause families to fight over a deceased relative's estate. Sometimes, families are going to fight no matter what and there is nothing that can be done to avoid it.

This is one reason why you should enlist the expertise of an estate planning attorney. She can make your estate plan as solid as possible, so there are fewer legal grounds for your family to fight over.

Nevertheless, minimizing the potential for your family to fight...

Glenn Frey of the Eagles passed away recently. Details of his estate have been made public.

The details of Glenn Frey's will are not that interesting on the surface. Nevertheless, the will does contain an interesting provision that illustrates how many wealthy people choose to handle their estate plans.

Frey left behind a will that leaves his entire estate to his wife and names her as the executor of the will.

Two co-executors were named, in case his wife was unable to serve.

There is not much that is unusual there.

The details of the will were reported by TMZ in "Glenn Frey Eagles Legend Left Everything To Wife."{: target="_blank"}

So,...

Few states have inheritance taxes any more, but Iowa still does. A recent court case there illustrates that the Iowa law has a strange provision.

A handful of states have an inheritance tax either in addition to or instead of a state estate tax.

Inheritance taxes are similar to estate taxes. With an estate tax, the estate itself is taxed before distribution to people. With an inheritance tax it is the tax is assessed on the people inheriting the estate.

Iowa is one of the states with an inheritance tax. However, it has an exemption for the tax when it comes to children who inherit from their parents. However, Iowa changed that exemption...

Bill Gates has called for a new approach to combating Alzheimer's disease and announced that he is contributing money to the cause.

It is a well-established fact among researchers: the earlier that Alzheimer's disease can be detected and diagnosed, the better it is for the patient.

It is possible to slow the pace of the disease somewhat, if detected early enough. Early detection also gives patients time to adapt and make plans for how they will handle the disease. These plans include getting legal paperwork, like powers of attorney and estate plans, in place while they still can.

However, figuring out how to detect Alzheimer's early has...

As the world becomes more globalized, courts are having to sort out sometimes messy conflicts between the estate laws of different cultures. A recent example comes out of Switzerland.

More and more people today are interacting and marrying people from different countries and cultures. They also are choosing to hold their assets in nations, where they do not live.

All of this can create problems when the laws of one nation conflict with the policies of another.

Recently, a court in Switzerland was asked to recognize a receipt of inheritance decision made by a court in Egypt, under its version of Sharia law.

The estate was that of an...

People would like to know how much money they need to have in their accounts, before they can consider retiring. That is not always an easy question to answer.

How much folks need to save for retirement depends on several different factors. One important factor is what they plan to do during retirement.

For example, people who would like to take a lot of vacations will likely need to have more money than those who are not interested in doing that.

One large retirement nest egg number that gets thrown around a lot is $1 million. It is a nice round number and it seems like a lot to most people.

However, even a number that large might not be...

If a trustee is removed from his or her duties, the former trustee usually turns over any assets he holds to the new trustee as quickly as possible. However, there are exceptions to that rule.

Marsha Sinzheimer and her late husband had created a trust for her benefit. The trust documents required that there should be co-trustees, one a corporate trustee and one an individual trustee.

Sinzheimer's son Andrew was appointed to take over as the individual trustee. However, before the former individual trustee stepped down, he exercised his authority to remove the corporate trustee and did not name another one.

When Andrew took over, he...