Blog

Decanting California Trusts: It’s Not Just For Wine

W. Bailey Smith

While decanting a good bottle of wine may be familiar to many people, California recently reenacted a law that allows a new type of decanting: trust decanting. Similar to wine decanting, trust decanting, by which a trustee may remove or change trust...

Trusts in the Age of Trump: Time to Re-Engineer Your Estate Plan

W. Bailey Smith

The federal tax overhaul doubled the amount of wealth you can pass to heirs estate-tax-free–without using any trusts or planning gimmicks. Trump’s law allows slightly more than $11 million per person to be passed to kids or other noncharitable heirs free of...

Busting A-B Trust

W. Bailey Smith

Blog, Trust, Uncategorized

IS YOUR TRUST A TICKING TIME BOMB? These days very few families need a complicated tax avoidance trust also known as an A-B Trust. Many trusts were set up over the years to help protect wealth from death taxes. The old A-B...

How Are You Making The Most Of The New Tax Cut?

W. Bailey Smith

What should you do before January 1, 2019 to make the most from President Trump’s new tax law? Based on your last year’s deductions, should you itemize your deductions or should you take the new higher standard deduction of $24,000.00 per couple?...

The “Trust Doctor” at it again!

W. Bailey Smith

The “Trust Doctor” at it again! Over the weekend I spoke about “How Donald Trump’s Tax Reform Act Affects Your Estate Plan” to 70 of my clients at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Newport Beach. Everyone raved about the traditional English breakfast...

What Happens to Your Airline Miles When You Die?

W. Bailey Smith

What would you do if you knew you had a potentially valuable asset that could vanish upon your death? Many airlines say “officially” that frequent flier miles are not “your” property and cannot be willed to your heirs upon your death. Frequent...

LET’S RETHINK THE MEANING OF ESTATE PLANS

W. Bailey Smith

A good estate plan goes beyond deciding who gets what and how much after you die. It should also address your hopes before you die – the things you hope to achieve later in life and what legacy you want to...

How Donald Trump’s Tax Reform Act Affects Your Estate Plan and “Brain Aging and Dementia”

W. Bailey Smith

How Donald Trump’s Tax Reform Act Affects Your Estate Planning

W. Bailey Smith

Learn about Trusts and how the latest tax reform act of 2018 affects your estate planning.

Tax Reform Presentation May 29, 30, 31

W. Bailey Smith

How Donald Trump’s Tax Reform Act Affects Your Estate Plan I will be hosting a presentation in our Long Beach and Irvine office. There will be three dates to choose from: May 29th, 30th, or 31st. Attendance at either of the presentations...

Exit Coach Radio – Podcast Sharing Estate Planning Strategies

W. Bailey Smith

House Swapping

W. Bailey Smith

House swapping simply means that you and your family agree with a family from a different area to live in each other’s homes during your holiday. Swap your home and travel just about everywhere in the world. No money changes hands between...

The ABCs of Trust Administration

W. Bailey Smith

WHAT IS A TRUST? A trust is nothing more than a contract. If you are married, it would be a contract between you and your spouse, establishing a manager for your assets, stating how your assets will be handled while you’re both...

The ABCs of Probate

W. Bailey Smith

WHAT IS PROBATE? Probate is required if a person has no Will. Probate is also required even if a person has a Will. Probate is required unless a person takes steps to avoid probate. Probate is “proving the will” through a court...

What Is Probate & How To Avoid It

W. Bailey Smith

WHAT IS PROBATE? Probate is required if a person has no Will. Probate is also required even if a person has a Will. Probate is required unless a person takes steps to avoid probate. Probate is “proving the will” through a court...

Joint Tenancy Is a Death Tax Trap & an Income Tax Disaster

W. Bailey Smith

Most people hold title to their investments in joint tenancy, but this is often not the best way to hold title. To determine how you hold title to your investments look at your title documentation. If you hold title in joint tenancy...

Be Careful Trustees!

W. Bailey Smith

A person can make poor investments and lose their own money without liability. But if you’re a trustee of someone else’s money, you can be liable if you make poor investments. This is true even if all you do is retain the...

Don’t Need Your Current Life Insurance?

W. Bailey Smith

Blog, Insurance, Investment

If you have a life insurance policy that you no longer want, consider selling it rather than simply surrendering it to the insurance company. Sales like these are so common that they even have a name – life settlements. You could possibly...

Incapacitated

Incapacity

W. Bailey Smith

Modern medicine is keeping our bodies alive longer, but it isn’t necessarily keeping our minds alert for longer. As a result, more and more people are becoming mentally incapacitated before they pass away. There are many dishonest people who will take advantage...

Smith Family Holiday

Spotlight On My Family

W. Bailey Smith

Kimmie is a graduate of UC Davis in Communications. She is bilingual in Spanish having studied at the University of Salamanca in Spain. She has now gone back to school to get a second degree in Speech Therapy. Her husband, Jon, is...

‹ Previous 1 2 3 Next ›