Legislators in Congress are reportedly considering creating a kind of Roth IRA version of the estate tax. On The Money, a blog of the congressional newspaper The Hill, this week said lawmakers are considering whether to let taxpayers have the...

The retirement plan marketplace is experiencing an identity crisis of sorts. To help fix deficiencies in the 401(k) system, Congress passed the Pension Protection Act in 2006, which enacted sweeping legislative changes and set the stage for reform...

I am a bit of a spiritual seeker. Last summer, in search of the meaning of life, I trekked up one of the highest peaks in the Himalayas to seek the answer from two gurus who live in adjacent caves. The first guru told me that the key to the...

The cost of long-term health care continues to spiral and insurance companies continue to cover fewer and fewer long-term needs. As a result, it's important for advisors to help their older clients plan for long-term care while protecting their...

I've counseled thousands of clients about the need for advance directives as an integral, critical component of an estate plan. Advance directives can be the most important document a client signs. If difficult health care decisions are to be made...

There's a new type of asset protection technique that's evolved from a well-established and highly effective elder law planning tool: the irrevocable income only Medicaid trust (IIOMT). We find the IIOMT to be an extremely effective tool in...

For estate planning using life insurance, and especially for large premium cases, split dollar offers an attractive method for funding the premiums with favorable gifting consequences. Before 2003, the rules for split dollar were a collection of...