by Sanford Okura | Aug 19, 2011 | Powers of Attorney and Health Care Directives
ADVANCE HEALTH-CARE DIRECTIVES (PART 2) In last month’s column I explained that Advance Health-Care Directives have two parts. One part is a “Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions.” It lets you name the person who will make medical decisions for you if...
by Sanford Okura | Jun 22, 2011 | Articles
THE REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST TRAP Here is a Medicaid rule that often surprises those in nursing homes: if your home property is in a Revocable Living Trust, you cannot qualify for Medicaid for nursing home costs until you take your home out of the trust. However,...
by Sanford Okura | May 22, 2011 | Articles, Asset Protection
ASSET PROTECTION FOR YOUR FAMILY Your will or trust probably says that you give your assets to your children when you die. (Whenever I mention “children,” I also mean nieces and nephews, brothers and sisters, or anyone else who will be inheriting...
by Sanford Okura | Apr 29, 2011 | Articles
2011 ESTATE PLANNING UPDATE By Sanford K. Okura Here is a 2011 update on important numbers used in Estate Planning and Medicaid Planning in Hawaii. How much money and property can a person have at death without paying estate taxes? Under a temporary federal...
by Sanford Okura | Apr 1, 2011 | Estate Taxes and Gift Taxes
Hawaii State Death Tax Calculation Chart Step 1: Determine Taxable Estate (from federal form 706, Part 2, Line 3) (However, use $3.5M as exemption)* Step 2: Determine Adjusted Taxable Estate (Subtract $60,000 from Taxable Estate in Step 1) Step 3: Find Adjusted...
by Sanford Okura | Mar 18, 2011 | Articles
On February 23, 2011, Governor Abercrombie signed into law Senate Bill 232, which makes civil unions legal in Hawaii, starting January 1, 2012. Although the law says that a civil union is not a marriage, it gives partners in a civil union the same legal rights and...
by Sanford Okura | Feb 28, 2011 | Estate Taxes and Gift Taxes
The new tax law gives us a wonderful opportunity to protect assets from nursing home costs and also from taxes. It makes temporary changes to the federal tax laws. It allows you to give away during your lifetime up to $5 million of assets without any gift...
by michelle | Jan 21, 2011 | Estate Taxes and Gift Taxes
Happy New Year, everyone! We have some exciting new tax laws. On December 17, 2010, President Obama signed into law the 2010 Tax Relief Act. I will explain the most important changes in estate and gift taxes. Temporary Law. Important parts of the new law are only...
by Sanford Okura | Dec 21, 2010 | Articles
COMMUNITY PROPERTY If you own property in any of the following states, it is important that you understand the basics about community property: Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. Also Puerto Rico and...
by Sanford Okura | Nov 21, 2010 | Trusts and Wills
BEWARE OF TRUST SALESMEN We were recently warned about a trust salesman committing fraud by saying that if you sign up with him, you would get a discount in legal fees from Okura & Associates. We don’t even know this person, and have reported him to the police....
