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	<title>Okura &#38; Associates - Hawaii Estate Planning Attorneys</title>
	<link>http://okuralaw.com</link>
	<description>Hawii Estate Planning Attorneys</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Tue, 20 Jul 2010 01:19:02 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>2010 &#8211; Why You Should Convert to a Roth IRA</title>
		<description><![CDATA[WHY YOU SHOULD CONVERT TO A ROTH IRA Forget all the articles you have read about whether you should convert to a Roth IRA.  Forget about “Roth IRA Conversion Calculators.”  If you have a substantial amount in a retirement plan that can be converted to a Roth IRA, you should convert this year.  I am [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://okuralaw.com/2010/2010-why-you-should-convert-to-a-roth-ira/</link>
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		<title>2010 &#8211; The New Hawaii Estate Tax</title>
		<description><![CDATA[There is now a new Hawaii estate tax.  The bill proposing the tax (House Bill 2866) was vetoed by Governor Lingle on April 25, 2010.  The Hawaii legislature overrode the veto on April 29, 2010, and the bill became Act 74 on April 30, 2010.  It imposes a tax on the estates of persons dying [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://okuralaw.com/2010/2010-the-new-hawaii-estate-tax/</link>
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		<title>2010- Protect Your Home From Medicaid Liens (Part 3)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[PROTECT YOUR HOME FROM MEDICAID LIENS (PART 3) Last month and the month before, I explained how to protect your home from Medicaid liens.  In my April column, I described how a parent can transfer the family residence to the children, and keep a &#8220;life estate.&#8221; The life estate allows the parent to continue to [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://okuralaw.com/2010/protect-your-home-from-medicaid-liens-part-3/</link>
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		<title>2010 &#8211; Protect Your Home From Medicaid Liens (Part 2)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[PROTECT YOUR HOME FROM MEDICAID LIENS (PART 2) Last month we discussed the dangers of having the government put a Medicaid lien on your home and property if you end up in a nursing home.  Remember, a &#8220;revocable living trust&#8221; cannot protect your home from nursing home costs. Some senior citizens who are worried about [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://okuralaw.com/2010/protect-your-home-from-medicaid-liens-part-2/</link>
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		<title>2010 &#8211; Protect Your Home From Medicaid Liens</title>
		<description><![CDATA[PROTECT YOUR HOME FROM MEDICAID LIENS More and more senior citizens are becoming concerned about nursing home costs.  No one really wants to go to a nursing home.  Nearly every elderly person would prefer to stay at home.  However, no matter how much children love their parents, caring for an elderly parent at home can [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://okuralaw.com/2010/2010-protect-your-home-from-medicaid-liens/</link>
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		<title>2010 &#8211; An Unusual Year for Tax Law</title>
		<description><![CDATA[2010 – AN UNUSUAL YEAR FOR TAX LAW There is no federal estate tax this year.  Since the State of Hawaii has no inheritance tax, Hawaii residents can die this year with any amount of assets and pay no death taxes at all.  This is only for the year 2010.  For someone dying in 2011 [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://okuralaw.com/2010/2010-an-unusual-year-for-tax-law/</link>
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		<title>2010 Estate Planning Update</title>
		<description><![CDATA[2010 ESTATE PLANNING UPDATE Happy New Year!  For those of you who had a difficult time in 2009, I sincerely hope that 2010 will be a better year for you.  Here is a 2010 update on important numbers used in Estate Planning and Medicaid Planning. How much money and property can a person have at [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://okuralaw.com/2010/2010-estate-planning-update/</link>
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		<title>Tenants by the Entirety</title>
		<description><![CDATA[TENANTS BY THE ENTIRETY             Most married couples in Hawaii buy their home as “tenants by the entirety.”  Many have transferred their home to their trusts.  Which is better?  To own your home as tenants by the entirety, or to put your home into your trusts?  Let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages.             First, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://okuralaw.com/2009/tenants-by-the-entirety/</link>
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		<title>New Medicaid Rules Are Now Effective</title>
		<description><![CDATA[            The February 2006 Estate Planning Insights column was entitled “Big Change in Medicaid Laws.”  On February 1, 2006, Congress passed the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.  President Bush signed the bill into law on February 8, 2006.  This new federal law makes important changes to the rules about qualifying for Medicaid for nursing home [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://okuralaw.com/2009/new-medicaid-rules-are-now-effective/</link>
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		<title>The Stepped Up Basis</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In estate planning, it is important to understand “stepped up basis.”  When you buy property (for example, real estate or stocks) your “tax basis” in the property is the amount you pay for the property.  When you sell the property, you have profit or “gain” equal to the difference between the sale price and tax [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://okuralaw.com/2009/the-stepped-up-basis/</link>
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