by Ethan Okura | Jun 6, 2014 | Articles
The Hawaii State Legislature has been quite active in the field of estate planning recently. Last month I wrote an article about the new Power of Attorney law. Shortly after that law was passed, Governor Abercrombie signed Senate Bill 2887, S.D. 1, on...
by michelle | May 30, 2014 | News
Ethan Okura, president of Okura & Associates, was recently listed by Pacific Business News as one of Hawaii’s top 40 professionals under the age of...
by Ethan Okura | May 6, 2014 | Articles
As of April 17th 2014, Governor Abercrombie signed a bill into law establishing the new Uniform Power of Attorney Act. It may be a little confusing to people because there already was a Hawaii law allowing powers of attorney, and the old law was called the...
by Ethan Okura | Apr 7, 2014 | Articles, Asset Protection, Estate Taxes and Gift Taxes
“’Tis impossible to be sure of anything but Death and Taxes.” – Christopher Bullock (Cobbler of Preston) Last month I addressed the serious topic of Death and the disposition of your remains. On an only slightly brighter note, this month’s article is focused on...
by Ethan Okura | Mar 7, 2014 | Articles, Powers of Attorney and Health Care Directives, Trusts and Wills
“Thou know’st ’tis common; all that lives must die, Passing through nature to eternity.” -William Shakespeare (Hamlet) Death. This is a difficult topic to think about. Most of us spend most of our lives enjoying work, hobbies,...
by Ethan Okura | Feb 8, 2014 | Articles, Estate Taxes and Gift Taxes, Medicaid and Nursing Home Costs
Here is a 2014 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? A little over one year ago, Congress passed a law making the exemption from...
by Ethan Okura | Jan 5, 2014 | Articles, Asset Protection, Trusts and Wills
Last month I wrote about the pitfalls of giving your home away without protecting yourself. We came to the conclusion that if you think you have 5 years of good health when you can still live at home before you might need nursing home care, it can be a good idea to...
by Ethan Okura | Dec 11, 2013 | Articles, Asset Protection, Trusts and Wills
We all know that the possibility of incurring disastrous Nursing Home costs is the biggest threat to most people’s estates today. Now that we have an exemption of $5.25 million from estate taxes, only the wealthiest 0.14% of Americans will pay this tax. In...
by michelle | Oct 25, 2013 | Articles, Powers of Attorney and Health Care Directives
DIFFERENT TYPES OF AGENCY: ATTORNEY-IN-FACT VS. TRUSTEE By Ethan R. Okura Clients often come to me confused about the different ways their loved ones can act for them if they become incapacitated (or how they can act on behalf of their family members). Today...
by michelle | Sep 9, 2013 | Articles, Estate Taxes and Gift Taxes, Trusts and Wills
TAX IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS By Ethan R. Okura Back in June, I wrote an article on how Obamacare affects the income taxes that trusts pay. It’s a very complicated subject (taxes always seem to be, don’t they?) and my quick summary of how it works may have left you with...
