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IDENTITY THEFT: HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF (July 2015)

IDENTITY THEFT: HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF (July 2015)

IDENTITY THEFT: HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America in the past two decades. In fact, last year it was the number one complaint category according to the FTC, with 12.7 million victims of identity fraud in 2014.  The...

POWER OF ATTORNEY AGENT, TRUSTEE, AND EXECUTOR THE DIFFERENCES, DUTIES, AND RESPONSIBILITIES (May 2015)

             I often encounter clients (or their families) who have some confusion about their rights and responsibilities as a legal representative of a family member or friend.  Usually, the person is named as an agent under a financial power of attorney or a...

(ALMOST) EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CHARITABLE TAX DEDUCTIONS

Last year at this time I wrote an article about tax deadlines and the penalties for not filing or not paying on time.  This year I want to talk in detail about one of our most innovative and useful strategies that can help clients to save on their taxes. This strategy...

DANGERS OF JOINT TENANCY

Many Husbands and Wives own title to their home as “Tenants by the Entirety” or as “Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship.”  Often they’ve been told that it’s a cheap and easy way to avoid probate and are shocked to...

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GIFTING YOUR ASSETS

            Most of my clients have heard that you can give away $10,000 per year to any other person without consequences.  That’s not exactly correct.  Some have heard that you should consider...

2015 ESTATE PLANNING UPDATE

Here is a 2015 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? At the end of 2012, Congress passed a law making the exemption from estate taxes...