Estate planning

As the court battle between Michael Jackson’s heirs and entertainment company AEG heads to the jury, the case highlights five legal challenges and complications that the estate executors have had to worry about in the last few months alone.

IRS private letter ruling gives heirs choices about annuities.

How are you preparing clients for the cost of possibly living into their 80s, 90s or 100s?

As summer comes to a close, we're taking a look back at some of the hottest stories this season. Whether you were on vacation or busy working -- maybe you just finally have time to catch up on reading over the long weekend -- we've gathered the summer's top stories all in one place.

The estate is arguing that a tax bill calculated by the IRS overvalued assets including real estate, a Bentley automobile and the late singer’s “image and likeness.”

The IRS is going after the estate of Bill Davidson, former owner of the Detroit Pistons and auto industry supplier Guardian Industries, to the tune of more than $2 billion.

Proceed with care. That’s what bankers, accountants and wealth managers are telling same-sex couples considering financial changes because of the Supreme Court’s rejection of a federal law denying them benefits.

A terminal diagnosis for Simpson's co-creator Sam Simon pushed him to immediately address his estate and charitable giving plans. His story offers an important lesson for your clients.

Beyond the hard work of tax-advantaged strategies and complex trusts, we spotlight the good works of planners

For any number of reasons, clients sometimes want to prevent their inheritors from draining their IRA accounts right after they die. LPL Financial is joining a handful of other firms in offering a turnkey product -- a so-called inherited “trusteed IRA” -- for advisors to use in these situations.

The Supreme Court’s landmark decision last month striking down the Defense of Marriage Act may have solved the estate tax problems of the lead plaintiff, Edith Windsor, but it still is leaving a lot of uncertainty among same-sex couples, particularly those in states that do not recognize same-sex marriage.

To put it bluntly, James Gandolfini’s estate is a mess. His faulty estate planning provides a good lesson of the types of complications that can arise for clients who rely heavily on a will.

An aging population has forged new partnerships between wealth advisors and health care planners.

In the wake of this week's landmark gay rights decision from the Supreme Court, financial advisors have as many questions as answers for their same-sex clients about how the ruling with impact their wealth management, tax and estate planning.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the core of the Defense of Marriage Act will narrow the financial gap between gay and straight couples.

The National Advisors Trust of South Dakota will give National Advisors-affiliated RIAs and their clients access to some of the most flexible trust and tax statutes in the nation.

Age Wave President and CEO Ken Dychtwald discusses what that new retirement reality may look like.

You can do your clients a great service by sharing this story and reminding them that gifts of valuable personal property need to be well-documented with good estate planning, so that their loved ones don’t have to fight in court over whether a valid gift was made or not.

Creating a will is not a last-minute endeavor, but one that requires deliberate planning.

Barack and Michelle Obama need a better financial strategy. Financial Planning has several suggestions.