Skip to Content

We are a Veteran Owned Business, providing 20% discounts for Veterans, First Responders, Elementary and High School teachers. Please contact us to set up a phone or Zoom meeting. Taking care of you and your family, It's What We Do!

Tag: Trusts

What Does My Estate Include?

Posted on Wed Apr 2, 2014, on Estate Planning

In estate planning, “my estate” can mean different things. Your probate estate includes all your assets that will pass through your will at your death, while your taxable estate includes all your assets that will be taxed at your death. Many assets are included in your taxable estate, but not your probate estate, such as assets in your revocable living trust, your IRAs, assets held jointly with a right of survivorship and all of your payable on death accounts.

Klenk Law

Fiduciary Reporter selects and publishes Glen Ridenour’s important Pennsylvania estate litigation case

Posted on Fri Sep 6, 2013, on Estate Litigation

Case included in selected Pennsylvania cases involving trusts and decedent’s estates

One of Attorney Glen Ridenour’s estate litigation cases has been selected for publication by the Pennsylvania Fiduciary Reporter. The case, in the Orphans’ Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas of Chester County, deals with the Estate of Robert T. Fawley, Sr., deceased.

Read the full case in PDF or Word format.

Klenk Law

Innovative Estate Planning Strategies

Posted on Mon Jun 17, 2013, on Estate Planning

Crafting an estate plan for a client means listening to what the client wants, explaining options to the client and then drafting a plan to meet the option selected. At times, a client’s circumstances require imaginative ideas. Here are some examples of imaginative estate planning that Klenk Law has utilized recently.

1. Protectors:
It remains a mystery to me why more estate planning attorneys do not use Protectors. A Protector is a person or persons you appoint to oversee a trustee with the power to fire and replace the trustee without the need of an attorney or a court hearing. No court hearing or attorney is necessary? Perhaps that is the reason why estate planning lawyers don’t use them? I use them in almost every trust. Even the most trusted person or bank can have problems, and if these problems negatively affect the trust, the Protector can “protect” the beneficiary without months of litigation.

Klenk Law

Benefits of a QDOT for a Non-Citizen Spouse.

Posted on Wed Sep 19, 2012, on QDOT Trust

Any transfer of assets at death involves a variety of tax consequences, but estate planning for a married couple where one spouse is not a United States citizen involves unique taxation issues and planning. Couples who find themselves in this unique circumstance should consider the benefits of an estate plan that includes a Qualified Domestic Trust (QDOT).

In 2012, the federal estate tax provides a credit of $5,120,000, meaning that the first $5,120,000 of any estate not diminished by taxable lifetime gifts will pass free of the federal estate tax.¹ This exemption is scheduled to fall to $1,00,000.00 in 2013². Further, Section 2056 of the Internal Revenue Code contains the “marital deduction,” which provides that any property left to a surviving spouse following a decedent’s death is not taxed until the surviving spouse’s death. These provisions give married couples options for deferring estate tax payments until after the surviving spouse’s death.

Klenk Law

What Our clients are saying

Klenk Law Logo
Stars

Mr. Klenk has been easy to work with. I am confident he has given me good advice whenever I have called upon him. He has shown good work ethic and depth of knowledge in preparation of estate, wills, and trusts that I have worked with him on.

Klenk Law Logo
Stars

AJK

Peter has done our family's trust and estate work since our children were born. He is not only extremely knowledgeable and honest but makes sure that our arrangements remain current with the changing legal landscape. I would give him my highest recommendation as a professional in his field.

Klenk Law Logo
Stars

Sheldon P.

Everything about my experience was a 10+! Peter and his staff made what I thought would be a difficult process easy and understandable. Every detail was handled correctly. No other firm could possibly do better than Klenk Law!

Klenk Law Logo
Stars

D.P.

Like another reviewer, I contacted Peter through his website using the free consultation link, for a question regarding PA inheritance taxes. The question was quite technical and difficult to explain, and the answer was nowhere to be found on the web. Peter grasped precisely what I was asking, and provided a clear, helpful response (with a touch of humor) the very next day.

Klenk Law Logo
Stars

CHARLES TOLL

Excellent, knowledgeable team handled a complicated issue with superb results.

Let us put our expertise to work for you.

Free consultation within 24 hours.