Estate Planning - North Light Financial Services

How Financial Planning Has Changed for Same-Sex Couples

How Financial Planning Has Changed for Same-Sex Couples Retirement & estate planning strategies are being greatly altered. When the Supreme Court affirmed the legality of same-sex marriage in June, its ruling profoundly altered the financial planning landscape for gay and lesbian couples resulting in some night and day differences. Yet in looking at the financial before and after, same-sex spouses and their advisors must also consider the when and where because the Supreme Court ruling only applies to [...]

By info@northlightfinancialservices.com|2017-03-28T08:17:29-04:00August 8th, 2013|Estate Planning, Personal Finance, Social Sercurity Planning, Uncategorized|Comments Off

Setting Up Your Estate to Minimize Probate

Setting Up Your Estate to Minimize Probate What can you do to lessen its impact for your heirs? Probate subtly reduces the value of many estates. It can take more than a year in some cases, and attorney’s fees, appraiser’s fees and court costs may eat up as much as 5% of a decedent’s accumulated assets. Think tens of thousands of dollars, perhaps more.1 What do those fees pay for? In many cases, routine clerical work. Few estates require more [...]

By info@northlightfinancialservices.com|2017-03-28T08:17:30-04:00April 25th, 2013|Estate Planning, Personal Finance|Comments Off

Charitable Giving

You don’t need to be wealthy to make an impact and get a win-win. Do you have to make a multimillion-dollar gift to a charity to receive immediate or future financial benefits? No. If you’re not yet a millionaire or simply a “millionaire next door,” yet want to give, consider the following options which may bring you immediate or future tax deductions. Partnership gifts. These gifts are made via long-term arrangements between donors and recipient charities or non-profits, usually with [...]

By info@northlightfinancialservices.com|2017-03-28T08:17:30-04:00April 11th, 2013|Charitable Giving, Estate Planning, Income Taxes|Comments Off

Social Media Life After Death

Social Media Life After Death What happens to our online presence after we pass away? Are profiles immortal? Are memories lost? How do the major social media sites handle a death among their users? Facebook adopted a policy of “memorializing” the pages of deceased users. If you pass away, your page won’t disappear – unless you or your loved ones decide that it should. Once memorialized, no one can log into it any further. The page is taken out of [...]

By info@northlightfinancialservices.com|2017-03-28T08:17:30-04:00February 28th, 2013|Estate Planning, Personal Finance|Comments Off

An Estate Planning Checklist

An Estate Planning Checklist What to check (and double-check) before you leave this world. Create a will if you don’t have one. A valid will may save your heirs from some expensive headaches linked to probate and ambiguity. A solid will drafted with the guidance of an estate planning attorney may cost you more than the will-in-a-box, but may prove to be some of the best money you ever spend. Complement your will with related documents. Depending on your estate [...]

By info@northlightfinancialservices.com|2017-03-28T08:17:31-04:00February 14th, 2013|Estate Planning, Personal Finance|Comments Off