Whether you are planning a wedding this year, or you have been married for 50 years, this helpful article from A Practical Wedding outlines four major planning discussions you should have with your spouse.  Writing your wills, purchasing life insurance, preparing living wills, and documenting various aspects of life can go a long way toward making an unexpected situation much simpler for your spouse or other loved ones to manage.

Thank you for a wonderful 2016, and best wishes for a safe and happy 2017!

After this month's election of Donald Trump as the next President of the United States, many Americans anticipate changes to the tax code.  On the campaign trail, President-elect Donald Trump vowed to eliminate the estate or "death" tax.  So, what does this mean for you?

For 2016, the unified credit (sometimes referred to as the estate and gift tax exemption) is $5.45 million per person, or $10.9 million for a married couple (this will increase to $5.49 million per person, or $10.98 million for a married couple in 2017).  This means that only assets held at the time of death above this threshold are subject to estate taxes as the law currently stands.

If enacted by Congress, Donald Trump's proposal would eliminate the current estate tax, but would impose a capital gains tax on assets valued at over $10 million at the time of death.  A recent article in Forbes provides a synopsis of Donald Trump's proposal.  What will actually happen remains to be seen, as an overhaul to the entire tax code requiring compromises will likely be necessary before any changes will be made by Congress.