The Inspector General of Social Security, Gail S. Ennis, is warning the public about fraudulent letters threatening suspension of Social Security benefits due to COVID-19 or coronavirus-related office closures.
The Internal Revenue Service is postponing the date for filing gift tax and generation-skipping transfer tax returns and making payments until July 15, 2020, because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
During the estate planning process, these beneficiary designations are reviewed to ensure that the beneficiaries are correct, and that the distribution of these assets conforms with the client’s intended estate plan.
The rapidly evolving coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis is creating a plethora of unique estate planning and legal challenges across the globe, particularly given the volatility of the financial markets.
The most common misconception estate planning attorneys hear, is that someone doesn’t need an estate plan because their client isn’t elderly or on death’s door.
About 55% of Americans do not have a will. Even more worrisome is the fact that less than one in five millennials have a will. The top reason why Americans don’t have a will, is simply procrastination, followed by the feeling of not having enough assets, and a fact that it’s too expensive to set up.
For obvious reasons, including control, privacy, asset protection, etc., many clients are interested in putting assets into a trust. For many retirees, their IRA is among their biggest assets. It’s only natural to want to put the IRA into a trust.
