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Estate Planning

BE CAREFUL ABOUT “REVERSE” MORTGAGES

by | Last updated Feb 9, 2022 | Estate Planning, Mortgage, Reverse Mortgage, Taxes

On the surface, a reverse mortgage seems like an excellent way to supplement your retirement income. By using your house as collateral, a bank will pay you (instead of you paying them) its equity (value) back to you in monthly installments. By taking into account their hidden fees and with the eventual loss of title of ownership, the following paragraphs will argue that this type or mortgage may not be such a great idea after all. The reverse mortgage originated in 1989. In that year, the Federal Housing Administration, under the direction of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, started a program called Home Equity Conversion Mortgages. As Mortgages in Canada are available to property owners over the age of 62, their relative ease in being obtained and popularity through clever advertising, made them grow at an exponential rate. Some Expert Witnesses claim that these home loans covered even the post-construction procedures, such as surveys and inspections. Under their terms, the home being mortgaged must be your primary residence. The amount of money that can be paid to you is based upon the equity of your house. If you have other mortgages in force (with using your home as collateral), the remainder of your equity will be the basis upon which the funds will be derived. Payments made you can be in one lump sum, in installments for the rest of your life, or as a credit line. Another plus is that this source of income is not subject of income tax. The duty to repay the loan is deferred until either: your die (as being the...

BE SKEPTICAL WHEN GETTING AN EMAIL OR PHONE CALL FROM THE I.R.S.

by | Last updated Feb 22, 2023 | I.R.S., Living Trusts, Samuel B. Ledwitz, Taxes, Trusts

In their never-ending pursuit with finding new ways to scare and defraud honest taxpayers, criminals are now employing a new scam. This one involves reaching out to citizens (either by telephone or via the internet), identifying themselves as I.R.S. agents, and making baseless criminal allegations demanding immediate payment of taxes owed. Once more, many scammers have been able to modify Caller I.D. readouts and in using the official federal agency’s logo embedded within their fraudulent emails in order to pull off this deception. This trick is currently being carried out across the United States, and has needlessly stressed out and swindled a large number of middle class families and retirees. According to the Internal Revenue Service, agents do not initially contact taxpayers either by phone or by email regarding a tax matter. Instead, residents are first notified by regular mail. Only after someone has been formally contacted by traditional methods do they confer electronically. If you or a loved one receives any type of phone call or email like this, the first step in taking action is to contact your local I.R.S. field office. Their number can be found in the white pages, or online. Second, you can notify the U.S. Treasury Inspectors at (800) 366-4484 and provide them with as much relevant information as you can. Another option to take in fighting back is to simply email: phishing@irs.gov and copy/paste the suspect email message. Lastly, the I.R.S. recommends that you also contact the Federal Trade Commission and activate a consumer complaint by filing an “I.R.S. telephone scam” report. Their main website is:...

Using Qualified Personal Residence Trusts To Lower Your Taxes

by | Last updated Feb 22, 2023 | Advanced Estate Planning, QPRT, Qualified Personal Residence Trusts, Taxes, Trusts

Clintons seek to avoid a tax they once supported Bill and Hillary are reportedly using tax advantaged strategies used by multimillionaires. Read More at fortune.com   Qualified Personal Residence Trusts – Bezaire, Ledwitz & Associates, APC Qualified Personal Residence Trusts, or QPRTs (pronounced “cue-pert”), are Advanced Estate Planning instruments that help clients transfer their principal residence at a lower Estate/Gift Tax value. Clients benefit from a QPRT’s by transferring their principal residence into an Irrevocable Trust (meaning that the trust cannot be amended, modified, or revoked once it has been created and funded), and retaining a right to live in that residence for a period of years. The named beneficiaries of the trust will receive the residence from the trust when the term ends, should the Grantor survive until that time. Read More at Bezaire, Ledwitz & Associates, APC Video – Qualified Personal Residence Trusts, Bezaire, Ledwitz & Associates, APC [wp_lightbox_ultimate_youtube_video_embed videoid=”16BkGj4A2ls” playlist=”” width=”853″ height=”480″ hd=”1″ autoplay=”1″ display_control=”1″ fullscreen=”1″ autohide=”2″ theme=”dark” show_suggested_video=”0″ use_https=”” enable_privacy=”” show_logo=”1″ showinfo=”1″ auto_popup=”” direct_embed=”” anchor_type=”image” text=”” source=”https://smartestateplans.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/qprt.png”] Qualified Personal Residence Trust Viewpoints on Financial Planning A qualified personal residence trust is ideal for anyone who has a substantial estate and is expected to face future transfer taxes. One of the best tools to manage future transfer tax liability for wealthy families is a qualified personal residence trust (QPRT). Read More at http://www.bbt.com/bbtdotcom/wealth/retirement-and-planning/trusts-and-estates/qualified-personal-residence-trust.page The ABCs of QPRTs A popular estate planning technique in today’s growing real estate market is to transfer a residence to a qualified personal residence trust (QPRT) to reduce the size of the estate. This article provides a case study on the mechanics...

Estate Planning: Affordable Care Act and expanded Medi-Cal

by | Last updated Feb 26, 2020 | Advance Health Care Directive, Affordable Care Act, Estate Planning, HIPAA, Trusts, Wills

Under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), low income persons under age 65 may enroll in the expanded Medi-Cal in order to meet the federal requirement that everyone have health care insurance. At age 65, Medicare covers doctor visits, hospital visits and some prescription drugs. Read...