Blog & Resources

While the single lifestyle is usually thought of as carefree when compared to married life, when it comes to estate planning a single person’s decisions and plan may prove more complicated than for a married couple. Whether you have never been married, are divorced or have outlived your partner, estate planning is vitally important to ensure that your wishes are carried out.

If a married person dies without a will, typically all the assets are held jointly so the estate passes directly to the surviving spouse. However, if singles die without a will or other estate planning documents, real estate and bank accounts are typically held only in the single person’s name. If a single person dies without a will, or “intestate”, these assets pass under the Rules of Intestacy.

Marriage is supposed to be for love and planning the wedding can be exciting, but take a few minutes and think about the less-fun aspects of your upcoming marriage such as the income tax ramifications. By spending some time thinking through various tax implications you just might have a happier …and more profitable… marriage.

Governor Tom Corbett’s announcement in May of 2014 that he will not pursue an appeal of U.S. District Judge John Jones’ decision in Whitewood v. Wolf means that same-sex marriage is here to stay in Pennsylvania. This means a same-sex marriage will result in the same tax treatment both with the IRS and with the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Equality is finally here, but some tax aspects of the equal treatment are advantageous and some are disadvantageous.

Often people will ask me if their assets are large enough to justify an estate plan. The simple answer is that if your life never changes, if you never get ill, if your assets never change and if your children’s lives are worry free, you might not need an estate plan. Otherwise, if your life is like the rest of ours, you will benefit form an estate plan. It might not be a complicated plan, but the chances are that even a simple estate plan will provide you great benefits.

A Will is a legal document that specifies the beneficiaries who are to inherit your assets either outright or in trust. It is a good idea to consider the possibility that any beneficiary that you name in your will might die before you. If so, you can name an alternative beneficiary who will receive the asset.

According to a recent national survey on pet ownership, there are more than 71 million households in the United States that own at least one pet. Many pets are an integral part of the family that owns them, but how many of these owners have considered what will happen to their pets after their death?

After the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in United States v. Windsor, which found unconstitutional the portion of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) that defined “marriage” as a union between a man and woman, and “spouse” as only a person of the opposite sex, and the decision in Garden State Equality v. Dow, where the New Jersey courts found that the New Jersey Constitution required same sex marriage, New Jersey residents can enter into same-sex marriages and same-sex marriages from other states will be recognized as valid in New Jersey.

In Pennsylvania if a person dies without a will his or her assets are divided up under the Pennsylvania intestacy rules. If you are married without children all your assets pass to your surviving spouse. If you are married but have children your spouse does not receive everything. Pennsylvania presumes that if a deceased person without a will had children, then some of the assets should pass to the children.

Governor Tom Corbett’s announcement in May of 2014 that he will not pursue an appeal of U.S. District Judge John Jones’ decision in Whitewood v. Wolf means that same-sex marriage is legal and here to stay in Pennsylvania. What does this mean for the estate planning same sex couples who choose to marry?

For centuries, trusts have been formed to provide safety and protection for valued assets. Recent changes in the law have made this old institution even more popular by reducing trust’s ongoing maintenance costs. You might think that only the very wealthy need the protection of a trust, but the truth is that a trust is a huge benefit to anyone having an asset in need of protection from their children’s creditors, divorce or from self-destructive beneficiaries.

Parents are often tempted to place property in Joint Tenancy with children. Because the child becomes a co-owner of the asset, the child is able to have easy access to the account to help the parent pay bills and manage the asset. Further, at the parent’s death the asset automatically passes outright to the child. While this type of ownership might first appear convenient, it is important to realize the potential pitfalls that come with joint ownership. Sometimes convenience comes at a high price.