Homeownership is often part and parcel of the American dream, and for countless families, the house is the primary asset in the eventual inheritance. But what do you do when you inherit a house? Do you need to amend a deed? Sign or fill out a change of ownership form? Pay more taxes? Settle a …
The inheritance tax is distinct and not to be confused with the estate tax, sometimes also known as the death tax. The estate tax is levied on an estate after its decedent has died. In contrast, the inheritance tax is set on the heirs receiving their respective portions of the estate in the final stages …
Everything we leave behind must be redistributed among the living when we die. However, what happens if the residents can’t locate what we have left behind? What happens to forgotten bank accounts, retirement funds left inaccessible, unclaimed wages, and property with no deeds or paperwork? What happens to everything that is lost to time or …
When we die, everything we leave behind must be transferred and distributed among the living. Yet we do not all distribute our financial and material legacy equally. Some people utilize estate plans to determine distribution, drafting different documents to establish a succession order among heirs and beneficiaries, designate beneficiaries for specific assets, hold certain assets …
We all dream of leaving behind a financial legacy to see our children through successful lives – to ensure their dreams and the dreams of their children can be made possible, through the hard work we endure in our day-to-day. But the reality can be starkly disappointing. The majority of “generational wealth” disappears by the …
Whether it was overlooked, never found, or passed on by multiple different heirs, an unclaimed inheritance can eventually be escheated to the state government. To understand how an inheritance can be left unclaimed – as well as how to claim it before it’s too late – we need to dive into how inheritance and beneficiary …
If you are anticipating family issues when you pass away and leave behind an inheritance for your loved ones, then heading them off is crucial. Even simple squabbles can turn into vicious and litigious fights down the road, and sore wounds can become years and decades of alienation, nonstop fighting, and eventually lead to an …
A contingent beneficiary is someone who inherits either if the primary beneficiary cannot, or if certain conditions have been fulfilled. To put it into an example, if you decide to leave your house to your three children, you may place the eldest as the primary beneficiary of the house and name your second child as …
One third of Americans who receive an inheritance spend all of it within two years. Research shows a significant number of young adults are either financially precarious (32 percent) or financially-at-risk (36 percent). In fact, the average American becomes financially literate at age 28. Are kids and young adults generally to blame for this? No, …
It’s difficult to determine exactly how much of California’s population still seeks a divorce – while divorce rates have been plummeting across the country since the Great Recession began in 2008, couples do still continue to seek separation in cases where the differences in the relationship feel irreconcilable. In recent years, out of roughly 20,000,000 …