A Simple Way to Avoid the CAPITAL GAINS TAX Creep!

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The tax that often creeps up and bites people is the capital gains tax. Capital gains tax is paid when you sell an asset that has appreciated in value. For example, if you buy stock for $20,000 and later sell the stock for $100,000, you will have $80,000 of capital gain and you must pay tax on this gain.

 
When you die, the basis of your assets will be “stepped up.” Your heirs will get a new basis. Your heirs’ basis will not be what you paid for the asset. Your heirs’ basis will be the fair market value of the asset on the date that you died. Note that this basis rule is different if you donate appreciated assets during your lifetime. The donee does not receive a step up in basis on stock that is given to him or her during the donor’s lifetime.

 
For this reason, many people choose to “hold on” to their appreciated assets and let their heirs inherit them at the stepped-up basis (at death), rather than donating appreciated assets to heirs during life causing donees to have a carry-over basis.

 

If you are interested in developing your legal estate plan, please email me at laura@lpochelaw.com or call my office at 225-224-8099.  I look forward to the opportunity to assist you.

5 Ways To Know That An Estate Planning Lawyer Is “Right” For You and Your Family

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I speak with folks all the time, and they feel comfortable sharing their “good, bad and ugly” lawyer stories with me. Unfortunately for them—many of them learned the “hard way”! For what it’s worth, here are 5 ways to find the right estate planning lawyer for you and your family:

1. Comfortable Financial Arrangements. Work with a lawyer who will not push you around or take advantage of you and your family from the standpoint of unreasonable lawyer charges. Work with a lawyer who addresses upfront appropriate fees for legal services in a very transparent manner, and all fees for legal services are performed for a fixed reasonable cost provided in writing to you in advance.
2. Referred By Many. Work with a law firm that is referred by hundreds of other Louisiana residents. What a lawyer says about himself or herself is merely a claim. When hundreds of Louisiana individuals, couples, and families objectively endorse a firm after using its services, those statements made by those clients are fact, and not a mere claim.
3. Serves You Through Future Life and Law Changes. Work with a lawyer and a law firm that will establish and maintain a lifetime relationship with you and your family. Estate planning is not a one-shot deal. You cannot “set it and forget it.” You or your family will need your lawyer and his/her firm in the future, so you’ll want to work with one that will be there when you need them.
4. Professional and Courteous. Work with a lawyer and a firm that has the staff and resources to support you and your family in the future. Work with a firm that has a staff of highly trained professionals that can answer your questions and respond to your inquiries on a moment’s notice in a courteous, prompt and professional manner.
5. Keeps Clients Informed. Work with a lawyer and a firm that keeps you informed of important law changes and timely estate planning trends through: monthly newsletter mailings to your home, ongoing educational opportunities through live seminars and online webinars, and lifetime email and phone call support!

 
If you want to learn more about planning options for your family and are looking for the right estate planning lawyer, I look forward to the opportunity to meet you on a complimentary basis to allow you to check me out! If you are interested in developing your legal estate plan, please email me at laura@lpochelaw.com or call my office at 225-224-8099.  I look forward to the opportunity to assist you.

The 7 Stupid Mistakes Men Make Leaving Their Wife Hanging at the Courthouse, IRS, and Nursing Home

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Yesterday, I met with a nice couple about their estate plan because the wife attended one of my seminars and thought they needed a plan. It was immediately apparent that the husband took care of all of the finances and the wife never engaged in the process. The husband did all the talking for the two of them and thought that by simply having a hand-written Will, everything was covered. WRONG! Once the husband realized that he was unintentionally exposing his wife to significant court costs, unnecessary delays, protracted litigation, nursing home poverty and more, he gladly acted with her in setting up their estate plan to avoid the “7 Stupid Mistakes” people make when they don’t take the time to plan:

1. No tax protection
2. No protection from children and their spouses
3. No protection from the court system
4. No periodic review of estate plan
5. No protection from long term care costs
6. No interdiction protection
7. No ongoing relationship established with a trusted estate attorney

 
If you don’t want to make the same mistakes and learn more about the pitfalls of having no program in place, I’m happy to discuss these matters with you and those who matter in your life. Please email me at lcpoche@bellsouth.net or call my office at 225 – 224-8099 at your convenience. It’s a complimentary visit.

4 Reasons Why Women Must Have A Legal Estate Plan

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Women who don’t speak up about estate planning might wind up capitulating to strategies that put them and even their children at a financial disadvantage.  Estate planning is a way for women to care for themselves and the people they love. 

The 4 reasons why women, especially, must have a legal estate plan are:

Reason #1:      Woman live longer than men, and because of this fact, estate planning affects women more profoundly, so women should take charge of this process, or at least be an equal participant.

Reason #2:      Women are the natural caregivers and nurturers of the family. Americans are living longer than ever before due to advancements in medical care.  It’s not uncommon today for families to have three, four and even five generations living at the same time.  Women need to be prepared to navigate difficult situations for their parents, themselves, their children, in-laws, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Reason #3:      Women need to take care of themselves first. Estate planning is not just for death.  Rather, women need to plan just as much (if not more!) during their life because they live longer and generally have lower lifetime earnings to tap into.  And, because they are the natural caregivers of the family, women need to take care of themselves first so they are able to care for their families.

Reason #4:      Women ultimately make all of the inheritance decisions for their families. Because women live longer than men, women control the wealth and usually get the last word on the ultimate distribution of a couple’s estate.  To be prepared to make these important decisions, women need to know what their estate consists of; the possible options for distribution; and take action to put their final plan in place.

If you are interested in developing your legal estate plan, please email me at laura@lpochelaw.com or call my office at 225-224-8099.  I look forward to the opportunity to assist you.