Many creditors take an aggressive approach after the death of a loved one. As a personal representative, be cautious. Depleting an estate’s cash to pay these “squeaky wheels” can cause trouble down the road.Because you may only administer an estate...
More Than 20 Years Of Serving Colorado Families And Businesses In Times Of Need
Year: 2017
How the grandparent scam works
It is hard to believe that scam artists would be targeting elderly individuals over the holidays, but that is what happens. This blog post comes from a Facebook news feed story.In the story, a 78-year-old grandmother received a call from someone claiming to be her...
How tax reforms and regulation changes could affect estates
Colorado does not have a state estate or inheritance tax. On the federal level, however, the estate tax is 40 percent. It only kicks in for large estates with a gross value of more than $5.49 million.An analysis by the Tax Policy Center found that about 11,310 estates...
Senior$afe Act makes progress in Senate
Creating a catchy title for federal legislation must be its own niche on Capitol Hill. The aptly named Senior$afe Act must have been coined by a financial planner.It begins to answer the question of how we reduce senior financial fraud. Brokerages and financial...
The importance of correct beneficiary designations
Retirement accounts, life insurance and annuities are probably not controlled by provisions in your will. Why is this? These types of accounts and any other designated “payable on death” or “transfer on death” automatically pass to a named...
Can spousal support survive after the payor dies?
This question involves two separate legal practice areas: family law and probate law. In September, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that in most situations spousal support/maintenance payments end when the obligor (spouse ordered to pay it) dies.In cases where the...
The story of a final gift to loved ones and a community
This Thanksgiving season spend a little time telling those around you how much you appreciate them – here is the guidance from Debi Barger, “Write a letter to someone and tell them how they have had a positive effect on your life.”Several weeks ago,...
FAQs about Colorado ABLE accounts
In a recent post, we promised a follow up on Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) accounts. These savings accounts allow those with disabilities to better plan for future needs without affecting disability benefit eligibility.As of our February update, it was...
Next Fifty Initiative shifts paradigm: “Aging is not scary”
A comment from a recent press conference caught our attention. In discussing new grants designed to foster innovative ideas to improve life past 50, Governor John Hickelooper shared this line, "Some say, 'young people, they've cornered the market on innovation.'...
Marco Chayet named Barrister’s Best in Trusts/Estates
One of our founding attorneys was recently recognized as the "Barrister's Choice" for best trusts/estate lawyer. Law Week Colorado publishes an annual list to track the highest performing attorneys in various practice areas with input from readers. As the only...