Silicon Valley Estate Planning Journal
News and Articles from the Law Offices of John C. Martin
Online and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Estate Planning
With the number of online and do-it-yourself (DIY) legal providers continuing to grow, some of individuals may be wondering if they could do their estate planning themselves. The advertising is seductive: attorneys use similar forms, the cost is significantly less...
Why You Should Name a Stand-Alone Retirement Trust as Beneficiary (For IRAs and Other Tax-Deferred Retirement Accounts)
Naming the right beneficiary for tax-deferred retirement accounts is critical. Most people want to continue the tax-deferred growth for as long as possible, pay the least amount in income taxes and get the maximum stretch-out. Required distributions after the owner...
Estate Planning Today Must Include Digital Assets and Social Media
It wasn’t very long ago that we had only paper for financial and tax records. We could simply point to a file cabinet or drawer and tell someone, “Everything is in there when the time comes.” But now we have computers and the internet, and so much of our lives is...
The Many Needs for Life Insurance in Our Lives
The main reasons most people have life insurance are to pay final expenses (medical, funeral, burial, etc.), replace an income stream and/or create wealth for our dependents after we die. Life insurance can also play an important role in business, estate planning and...
The Most Important Love Letters You’ll Ever Write?
Many Americans have the misperception that estate planning is simply preparing for one’s death and is only necessary for the affluent. To the contrary, estate planning is as much about passing values to loved ones as it is about passing material possessions....
Paying for College . . . and accomplishing estate planning too
With higher education costs outpacing inflation by 5-6% per year, and the average cost of a four-year public school at nearly $20,000 per year (double that for private schools) it’s no surprise that many parents and grandparents are deeply concerned about how they...
Planning Opportunities Available to Affluent Families
With the $5.12 million per person exemption from federal estate tax ($10.24 million for married couples), most of the estate planning “talk” recently has been on the planning opportunities available to affluent families. However, the need for estate planning remains...
Using Advanced Irrevocable Trusts for Income and Estate Tax Savings: Making 2012 Count
The next nine months are an exceptional window of opportunity for your clients to make family wealth transfers. The federal gift and estate tax exemption is $5,120,000, and both income tax rates and interest rates are at the lowest point in a...
Planning for Advanced Asset Protection
Asset protection is vitally important in our ever more litigious society, and more wealth planning teams are needed who understand the intricacies of this area and can collaboratively implement advanced strategies. Whether creating an entire plan for the client or...
Welcome
Welcome to my blog. Please check back soon for new entries.
John C. Martin
(650) 329-9500
Recent Posts
- John Martin Speaks on Advanced Estate Planning
- Estate Planning with Real Estate after Proposition 19
- John Martin recently quoted in Charles Wallace’s article on Digital Wills and the importance of managing passwords
- KGO Radio Interview with John Martin
- Through Menlo Park Kiwanis, John Martin Helps Award $50,000 in College Scholarships
- Federal Tax Reform is Coming. Are you Ready?
- California Asset Protection Laws are Changing. Is Your Current Trust Adequate?
- Tune in on 7/19 at 7pm for a Live Radio Discussion on the Prevention of Financial Elder Abuse
- John C. Martin Featured on ABC7 News with Michael Finney
- John Martin Helps Give Away $55,000 in Scholarships to M-A Students through Menlo Park Kiwanis