Notorious doomsday prophet Harold Camping, whose past predictions of the end of the world proved overblown, is now absolutely certain that the world will end on October 21, 2011. Don’t be surprised if you are reading this on or after October 22, 2011, but don’t get lulled into thinking that estate planning is one of those things you can put off indefinitely.
Posts Categorized: Charitable Giving
Al Davis, RIP
Oakland Raiders owner and former head coach Al Davis is famous for a lot of things, including his quote, “We don’t take what the defense gives us; we take whatever the hell we want.” Mr. Davis has gone on to his eternal rewards, leaving his family to face an adversary that is more intimidating than the Raiders in their glory years. But there is good news for the rest of us. Even when you are up against the IRS, there are ways to, in Mr. Davis’ immortal words, “Just win, Baby!”
Doing Well and Doing Good with Charitable Remainder Trusts
By creating a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) and selling assets low basis assets through it, a donor can reap dramatically increased income, get a nice income tax deduction, and benefit a favorite charity. Not a bad way to recover from an IRS-induced April 15 headache.
So What’s the Deal with Tithing?
Today’s outstanding sermon by Pastor Dan Chun got me thinking about why God would want to get into my wallet. I mean really–what could the creator of the universe want with my money? As it turns out, I think he is really after something else.
Fundamental Estate Planning
For many of us, estate planning is an uncomfortable subject. That’s understandable, but there are adverse consequences to avoiding it.
WSJ Article on IRA Charitable Rollovers
Here’s the Wall Street Journal’s perspective on the current opportunity for making charitable gifts of the required minimum distributions of your IRA.
Congress Extends the IRA Charitable Rollover
An important piece of the new tax act is the extension of a great way to make charitable gifts through your IRA. The only catch is you have to be 70-1/2 or older to take advantage of it.
Let the IRS take a bath for a change
Estate taxes are completely optional for those who are motivated to avoid them. A special wrinkle in the law provides a rare opportunity to make gifts to charity and your loved ones without the IRS or Congress getting their hands on your assets after you are gone.