NFA (Gun) Trusts Provide Many Advantages
This posting is courtesy of my colleague David Goldman in Jacksonville, Florida, who has created a special trust for owning weapons regulated by the National Firearms Act (NFA).   Our Copyrighted NFA Trust is significantly different than any other Revocable Trust on the market.  A NFA trust is created for the purpose of purchasing, owning, using, and transferring Title II weapons by you and your family.      One of the differences in a professionally created NFA Trust is 

Most of us will be too poor to retire at 65
According to the National Retirement Risk Index prepared by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, 51% of American will not be able to afford to retire at age 65. That means that many of us need to save more, spend less, and plan on working past age 65.

Wills - are You Aware or Blissfully Ignorant?
Last week was National Estate Planning Awareness Week - I'm sure most of us didn't know that, but awareness about the necessity of estate planning is pitifully low, so anything that can be done to help folks realize that it's important to plan for the future is good. Here's an article from USA Today - 5 myths about wills, and what you should do.  However, I disagree with one thing in the article - that Do-It-Yourself software and websites are fine for basic wills.  The problem is that many people think they need only a basic will, but in reality their situation is not so simple. 

Estate Tax: Back to the Future
This article on Trusts & Estates journal's website discusses a very real possibility - a return in 2011 to the estate tax laws of 2001.  Briefly, that would mean a $1 million exemption and a 55% rate.

The Dirty Dozen - 12 Estate Planning Mistakes
As Halloween approaches, here's another reason to be scared - failure to do proper estate planning.  Make sure you have not committed any of these common mistakes that I see all too often: No trust provisions for minor children as beneficiaries of a will. Not updating your plan when you move to another state. Having a will, but neglecting the other important documents (durable power