The United States Supreme Court, in a decision that surprised many, held that, after the death of an IRA owner, assets in an inherited IRA for a non-spouse beneficiary no longer constitute retirement funds for bankruptcy purposes; therefore, they are not protected from creditors’ claims when a non-spouse beneficiary files for bankruptcy. So if you want to be sure that your children inherit your retirement...
Wisconsin has revised its general power of attorney statutes making prior statutory references inaccurate and clarifying the laws regarding the extent to which you are allowed to grant authority to agents under a Wisconsin power of attorney.
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Wisconsin has revised its trust statutes. These changes, among other things, make it easier to change an irrevocable trust in response to unanticipated circumstances including tax changes, clarify the ability to creditor proof the trust assets you leave for your beneficiaries and provided a pretty good method for keeping the dispositive provisions of your trust...
The current estate tax threshold is $5,490,000.00 reduced by any lifetime taxable gifts. In addition there is now a way to port the unused exemption of the first spouse to die to the surviving spouse resulting in as much as $10,980,000.00 of total exemption for a married couple. If your trust contains estate tax provisions...
There are two types of health care directives in Wisconsin; Power of Attorney for Health Care and Living Will. If you cannot make your own health care decisions, Mr. Kriger recommends that you have an agent appointed under a health care power of attorney who can make your health care decisions in order to make...
If you do not have a properly drawn power of attorney and you become unable to make your own decisions no one, not even your spouse, has the legal authority to act on your behalf; to pay your bills, make investment decisions, file tax returns, to deal with social security, Medicare or Medicaid. That means...
People who are disabled and qualify for certain government benefits such as SSI and Medicaid are allowed very limited available assets if they are to remain qualified for their benefits. You can use a trust to provide for a disabled person and avoid having the trust assets disqualify the beneficiary from such benefits. Mr. Kriger...
“All to the surviving spouse, and if no surviving spouse then all to the children in equal shares.” But most people want their assets to stay in their blood line. What if the surviving spouse remarries? What if the child inherits and the child dies and your daughter or son in law remarries? Mr. Kriger...
If the principal owner of a family business dies, who is the boss? Do all the children work in the business, likely not, so how does the business owner treat all the children equally and leave the business to the one or two that work there? Mr. Kriger has advised many families about ownership and...
A client wanted to keep the summer cottage in the family, so the children and grandchildren could continue to enjoy it in the future. How do you make sure the expenses like real estate tax, utilities, maintenance and repairs are shared fairly? How do you make sure the use of the cottage is shared fairly...
