The Plain English Attorney Blog

Far too many attorneys overcomplicate things, making topics convoluted and difficult to understand to the average person. This blog is committed to explaining legal planning topics in an easy to understand format, in plain English. Enjoy the blogs, and please let us know if there is a topic you would like covered.

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Estate Taxes Avoidable? #estatetaxes estatetaxexemption ilit irrevocable life insurance trusts Oct 30, 2023

The Return of the Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust?

Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts might be making a big comeback as a popular tool to help avoid estate taxes and to help pay those taxes and other expenses without having to liquidate assets. But how do these irrevocable trusts work?...

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EINs and Trusts #estateplanning #estatetaxes #irrevocabletrusts #taxpayerid #trusts May 24, 2022

This question keeps coming up... "Does a trust need a separate taxpayer identification number?" It depends. In general...

* Revocable Living Trusts do not need an EIN/Taxpayer ID if the Trustor(s) are still alive

* Irrevocable Trusts generall DO need a separate EIN

* Hybrid Irrevocable...

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Three Sneaky Ways the Government Makes Itself Your Beneficiary #beneficiary #estateplanning #estatetaxes #specialneedsestateplanning 401k ira May 12, 2022

When it comes to special government programs, what on the surface appears to be a good deal may not really be to your advantage or especially to your estate beneficiaries. Unfortunately, chances are that you are already invested in once these “deals” That is, unless you know all of...

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