Smith Alling PS 2026-03-05T06:38:52Z https://www.smithalling.com/feed/atom/ WordPress /wp-content/uploads/sites/1103319/2023/07/cropped-SA-site-iconpng-32x32.png On Behalf of Smith Alling PS https://www.smithalling.com/?p=48243 2025-02-12T21:08:52Z 2025-02-12T21:08:52Z

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th Legal Operations Detachment headquartered at Joint Base Lewis McChord. Tom holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. A Tacoma native, Tom has a BA degree from the University of Puget Sound and JD degree from Seattle University School of Law. He is a past President of both the Tacoma-Pierce County Young Lawyers Section and the Washington State Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. He also served as President of the Tacoma-Pierce County Bar Association. He has this firm’s best wishes as he begins his new chapter as a state court judge.]]> On Behalf of Smith Alling PS https://www.smithalling.com/?p=46780 2023-07-26T04:55:21Z 2020-03-20T05:06:36Z

First, and most importantly, you need to make sure you have, at a minimum, your basic documents in place. (Read more about the 6 most important documents we all need HERE.) These include your will, powers of attorney, beneficiary designations and health care proxies. These are necessary documents. If you don’t have them, or care for an older loved one who doesn’t have them, now is the time! When it comes to your finances and savings, you might want to consider a few changes. Such as making an annual gift exclusion. You can make an annual tax-free gift of about $15,000 (indexed for inflation) that does not count against your lifetime gift tax exclusion. Using marketable securities as the gifted asset when volatility is high, and valuations are down, can offer some extra mileage on gifts made now as valuations recover in the future. You might also want to consider Roth IRA rollovers. Because the “cost” of converting a traditional IRA into a Roth means paying taxes now on the current value of the IRA, it’s best to make these conversions when the market is down. Doing this will also insulate you from future tax redistribution, assuming tax rates going forward will be the same or higher. Another consideration is moving assets into existing trusts or funding a new one. Similar to the annual gift, funding a trust with securities while valuations are low allows for more assets to be placed in the trust (when measured against the lifetime exclusion). Regardless of your situation, it might be the perfect time to look over your documents and think about your financial investments. We are here to help! We are available online, by phone, email or in person. Don’t wait, call today. Your health and well being is our utmost concern.]]> On Behalf of Smith Alling PS https://www.smithalling.com/?p=46778 2023-07-26T04:55:25Z 2020-03-20T05:04:23Z

Step One Review your current documents to make sure that the people you have named for positions like your Personal Representative, Trustee, Power of Attorney, Health Care Agent, and if you have minor children – Guardian, are still the right individuals for those jobs. You might want to read more about what to make sure is in place according to your age HERE. Review who is listed to receive the assets of your estate. Do the individuals listed and the amounts each will receive still reflect your wishes? Does your Health Care Directive express your health and end of life decisions? Is someone receiving assets from your estate outright (i.e. not in a trust) but probably shouldn’t? Perhaps because they have a chemical dependency issue, serious mental health issue, pending divorce, are receiving government benefits or other reason that would prevent them from managing the inheritance in a responsible manner. Read more about Trusts HERE. If you have a Revocable Trust, are your assets properly titled in the name of the Trust? Do retirement accounts and life insurance policies have beneficiary designations in place, and do they still reflect your wishes? Most attorneys will include recommendations on how assets should be titled and wording for beneficiary destinations. Now is a good time to review those recommendations and make sure they have been implemented. If your estate plan was prepared before 2017, you may want to review your estate plan to make sure that the proper estate tax provisions are included in your plan. If you have large amounts held in a retirement account, you should consider the possible impact the new SECURE Act may have on you and those who will inherit your retirement account. (Learn more about the SECURE Act HERE.) When in doubt, call Us! Each situation is unique, and each estate plan needs to be tailored to match. Please know that we are here to assist you with your estate planning needs. If you are uncomfortable about coming into the office, we can do a consultation by phone. Don’t wait. Contact Bob Michaels at Smith Alling today!]]> On Behalf of Smith Alling PS https://www.smithalling.com/?p=46776 2023-07-26T04:55:30Z 2020-03-20T05:01:38Z

How Can You Help? Keep in mind that many elderly individuals pay bills, deposit checks and attend to other financial matters without the benefit of a computer or the internet. Many still mail/post or even hand deliver documents. Those tasks become more challenging for an elderly individual who cannot leave his or her residence. Some of these issues can be addressed by taking care of these tasks online. If you are part of the support system for an elderly individual who takes care of business the old-fashioned way, now would be a good time to help them learn about online banking, how to ‘download’ and ‘upload’ documents, and make sure they have access to email and the internet. For those who may not be able to handle this type of information, this would be an excellent time to instate a financial power of attorney. Which is an essential estate planning document for elderly clients who need assistance in attending to financial matters. By that instrument the individual gives an “agent” the authority to pay bills, pay insurance premiums, handle investments, deal with tax return preparation and address numerous other financial matters. While most powers of attorney are legally effective as soon as they are signed, a bank or broker which is shown a copy of a customer’s financial power of attorney will not automatically honor it. The process of having the power of attorney “activated” at a bank or broker can take days or even weeks, so don’t wait. Make sure that the power of attorney is “on record” at their bank/broker so that the agent can handle these matters promptly should the need arise. If the elderly person in mind is related/close to you, now would be a VERY good time to make sure they have all their important documents in place. If you are unclear about what those “important documents” are, click HERE. If these documents are out of date (not addressed in the last 5 years) or missing, now is the time to update or find them! If you have a document copy of an advance directive for healthcare, a healthcare proxy, living will or similar document, make sure that the individual’s current physician has been added to the their medical record or to the hospital where the would most likely be admitted. That is especially important because those documents typically include a HIPAA waiver and without that the health-care provider, they will not communicate with the healthcare proxy or representative named in these documents. Along different estate planning lines, the pandemic has caused a dramatic drop in the equity markets. Because the power of gift-giving lies in the appreciation on the gifted assets after the date of the gift, depressed values create a unique opportunity for gift-giving. There are numerous gift-giving techniques. Some are as simple as $15,000 annual exclusion cash gifts and some are as complex as the funding of an “intentionally defective grantor trust” followed by the sale of a closely held business interest to the trust. With the market as low as it is, even a cash gift of $15,000 (or multiple cash gifts) if well-invested can shield the post-gift appreciation from federal and state estate tax in the estate of the donor. The same concept applies to most other estate planning techniques. In other words, these are difficult and tumultuous times. Which is what an elder law, estate planning attorney is best at. Here at Smith Alling, PS, in Tacoma, attorney Bob Michaels has the experience and knowledge to help you through a challenging time. If you are uncomfortable about coming into our office, we can have a conversation by phone or online. Please don’t hesitate to reach out. We are here to help! Click HERE, for a Free consultation.]]>