Whither the Warhols?
Artist and trend setter Andy Warhol likely perceived that two select paintings he did of another iconic individual back in 1980 would still command great attention nearly four decades later. It is unlikely, though, that he could remotely envision why.
Aretha Franklin. Prince. James Brown.
And now Tom Petty.
“Opening the doors of communication.”
We used those words and imagery in a recent blog post at the Bay Area Law Offices of Connie Yi. We stressed in our April 2 entry that a candid and timely two-way exchange is vital between adult children and their parents when it comes to the key details of mom’s and dad’s estate plan.
Have you ever noticed as the adult son or daughter of loving parents that mom and dad still treat you like a child?
We don’t mean lecturing you about your political views or questioning your purchase of a vehicle other than one they think would have made for a more sensible choice.
You love them all equally, right, so doesn’t it simply make sense to treat all your kids the same when it comes to their down-the-road inheritances?
That is unquestionably the mindset of legions of estate planners in California and elsewhere and, yes, following through on that inclination often makes perfect sense.
We have stressed in select prior blog posts at the Bay Area estate planning Law Offices of Connie Yi that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service has an unflagging focus on American individuals and families with offshore money holdings.
The agency’s interest is both obvious and often noted by IRS principals. If you’ve got assets parked in banks and/or other investment vehicles abroad, tax authorities want to know about them.
When it comes to estate planning, families are complicated. It's not always so simple as Mom and Dad passing away pleasantly in their 90s and leaving the money to their responsible adult children. We all wish things could go so smoothly, but they often don't. And that can lead to problems.
One potential problem happens when someone gets married again, either after a divorce or after the original spouse passes away, and the new spouse is far younger.
According to one prominent national new source, “the IRS is a shadow of its former self.”
If you think that you might reasonably have some serious problems to deal with in the event of an agency audit, does that assessment make you feel any better?
Tick, tick, tick.
For some American tax filers, those surpassing seconds can seem akin to a default mantra that begins to sound in their heads around this time each year.
It is notable how select legal tools in various practice areas are sometimes misunderstood or underappreciated by individuals and families that could derive strong benefit from using them.
Consider the prenuptial agreement in family law, for example. It is often scorned for its perceived throttling of love in a relationship. Some couples regard its execution as a bet against marriage survivability. In fact, strong and broad-based utility attaches to the tool, with many couples who explore its tangibles ultimately seeing it as a planning device of considerable power.
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