2023 Tax Update – Federal and Colorado Changes

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With inflation hitting the US and World hard the last couple of years, changes to tax rates were expected and as always bring some benefits and some detriments.  Here are the latest numbers for the major taxes involved with estate planning and administration. 

Lifetime Estate and Gift Tax Exemption

With the New Year brings an increase in the U.S. estate and gift tax exemption. The new exemption will be $12.92 million per individual for 2023 gifts and deaths, up from $12.06 million in 2022.  Keep in mind this rate doubles for married couples, who can now have a combined $25.84 million before any federal estate tax will be due.

Annual Gift Tax Exclusion

This year the annual gift tax exclusion will be increase again by another $1,000 per recipient to a total of $17,000 per recipient or $34,000 per individual from a married couple. 

The annual gift tax exclusion is the amount under which a gift may be given tax-free without counting towards or using up any of the givers lifetime gift or estate tax exemption. For example, Mrs. Smith can give each of her 2 children $17,000 this year and her husband can also give them each $17,000, for a total of $34,000 to each child.  They also could give a total of $34,000 to each of their 5 grandchildren.   This transfer of $238,000 to their descendants in 2023 is allowed without touching their combined $25.84 million gift tax exemption.

2023 Irrevocable Trust Income Tax Brackets

Trust Income Tax brackets increased slightly (as did individual/joint( to the following:

10% $0 to $2,9000

24% $2,901 to $10,550

35% $10,551-$14,450

37% $14,451 and higher

Colorado Small Estate Affidavit

The Colorado Small Estate Affidavit value increased by several thousand dollars to $80,000.   This is the value over which a probate is required for individually held assets at someone’s death. 

Filed Under: Colorado Estate Law Information, Family Estate Planning, Tax Planning ·

Do you have an Advance Healthcare Directive?

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If not, let April 16th – National Healthcare Directives Day – help motivate you to get this done.

The last couple years of being in a worldwide pandemic have been hard on everyone. Most of us know someone who has died of COVID or at least been hospitalized in critical condition. The use of ventilators and other mechanical respiration as a very successful means of treatment has changed the way many view this type of intervention. Indeed, modern medicine can do amazing things, but it can also require some very difficult decisions.

Thinking about your own medical preferences and sharing those preferences with loved ones is critical. Your loved ones can’t act on your wishes unless they know what they are. Beginning this conversation can be a bit scary at first, but it’s a great gift for the people who care about you as well as to your own well-being during a healthcare emergency. Without the conversation, there can be confusion, conflict, and guilt in a situation that’s already very stressful.

To begin this healthcare decision conversation, talk about your values and experiences, what’s important to you. Eventually as part of complete advance care planning, you will want to sign a medical power of attorney and possibly other estate documents. A power of attorney is a legal document that names one or more people you trust to make medical decisions if you are unable to make them for yourself.

However, it is important to remember that advance care planning is more than just a document. It’s a process of planning and conversation that needs to be revisited throughout your lifetime as your medical needs and technology change.

National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD) is coming on April 16th. This wonderful nationwide initiative encourages adults of all ages to plan ahead of a health crisis. The Conversation Project (theconverstationproject.org) and Five Wishes (fivewishes.org) are two wonderful organizations that provide numerous resources to help you start planning for your own directives as well as having these conversations with your loved owns to ensure they have also planned. Estate planning firms, like Holmes Shirley Law, also can be a great local community resource to guide you through this process.

When we make decisions ahead of time and put those wishes in writing, we bring peace of mind to our families. We enable caregivers to advocate for us when we are unable to do so for ourselves.

By Karen H. Shirley, Esq.
Holmes Shirley Law

Filed Under: Colorado Estate Law Information, Health and Wellness, Power of Attorney · Tagged:

One Month to National Healthcare Decisions Day

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It is one month until National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD).  This day is part of a national movement to help increase the number of U.S. citizens who have their healthcare preferences documented and have empowered someone of their choosing to act on their behalf to make decisions when they are unable to.

Some of the grim facts:

The U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, in a 2003 article, “Advance Care Planning: Preferences for Care at the End of Life,” found the following:

  • Less than 50 percent of the severely or terminally ill patients studied had an advance directive in their medical record.
  • Only 12 percent of patients with an advance directive had received input from their physician in its development.
  • Between 65 and 76 percent of physicians whose patients had an advance directive were not aware that it existed.

In support of getting these critical documents in place for everyone, Holmes Shirley Law is offering 20% off on all healthcare directives during the entire month of April.  We are also working to help promote the day and knowledge about healthcare decisions in the Denver Metro area.

Please call us today to learn more – 720-248-7621.

Filed Under: Colorado Estate Law Information, Elder Care, Family Estate Planning, Health and Wellness, Power of Attorney ·

Do-It-Yourself Estate Planning – The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

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America is a nation of do-it-yourselfers, but building a deck and creating a legally valid estate plan are two entirely different things – and a less-than-perfect deck won’t devastate your family’s financial future or the relationships among the people you care about most.

The prevalence of online legal services has led many people to believe that they can create legal documents cheaply and those documents will be just as effective as if they had visited an estate planning attorney.   The majority of the time this is wrong.

The Good

I am slightly tempted to leave this section blank.  But in all seriousness, DIY is very tempting to a lot of people so here  are a few of the perceived goods:

Inexpensive – a lot of individuals interested in doing estate planning think that all they need is a “simple will” and have sticker shock after speaking with an attorney or law firm over the cost of a complete estate plan.   While going it alone with a book or a form may save you money now, it likely will cost you and your loves ones more in the future.

Time Savings/Flexibility – Do-it-yourself estate planning can be done on your own time schedule.  That much is true.  But to do it right, you will need to spend your evenings, weekends or other free time educating yourself about the law and the available options so you can make the right choices or the documents you complete might not be doing what you think they do.  Remember attorneys spend 3 years after college studying the law and then, in Colorado, 45 hours (minimum) of continuing legal education every 3 years.  That doesn’t even include their own on the job training.

As demonstrated by a recent case in Florida highlighted by the ABA Journal, what you save today may cost your heirs or beneficiaries much, much more later.

Why DIY Estate Planning is a Bad Idea 

No legal advice – Online sites offering “estate plans” are little more than document mills that churn out the same generic forms over and over.  They are not attorneys and cannot advise or warn you if you make a mistake. Plus, who will be there for your family when something happens to you if you’ve used an online document drafting service?  Think your family doesn’t need an advisor to support them when you are gone?  Or incapacitated? Think again.

Consider this: Erica’s father was killed in a motorcycle accident. Dad didn’t leave much behind, but he did leave an estate plan prepared by a trusted family attorney.  Had the family attorney not been there for Erica and her brother, they would have taken what dad did leave and drowned their sorrows in a European backpacking trip.  Thanks to this family attorney, though, Erica and her brother now have a healthy trust fund set up for them for life with the proceeds of a successful wrongful death case.

Leaving it to your family to know what to do after you’re gone is a big mistake for the people you love.

One size doesn’t fit all – your family is different from everyone else’s family.  Just like every state has different inheritance laws, every family has different situations.  An online form will not help you protect child or relative with special needs, or protect a child’s inheritance from creditors or a nasty divorce.  An online form cannot tell you how to protect assets from taxes or help you achieve your financial or charitable goals.

And, an online form cannot keep your family out of conflict during a time of grief.  Even if you don’t have a lot of assets to leave, whatever you do have will be subject to distribution between the people you care most about.  Some of the biggest disagreements we’ve seen after death, aren’t about loads of money, but about the little things, like burial wishes, and who was promised grandma’s wedding ring, dad’s hunting knife or the heirloom teapot, and those little things aren’t going to be dealt with well with form documents.

Save now, pay later – you may think you are saving money by using an online service to create your will or trust, but it is impossible to make a fair comparison since the services provided are entirely different.

An estate planning attorney creates an entire plan tailored to your individual needs in legal documents that will stand up in court, and advises you on ways to cut taxes now as well as in the future, save for retirement and long-term care and truly protect your unique wishes.  No online service does that.

In addition, your trusted advisor is going to be there for your family when you cannot be. The people you love will need someone to turn to after you are gone.  Do you want them to be stuck with figuring out who that should be during their time of grief? Or do you want to leave behind the gift of having taken care of things well during your lifetime and a trusted advisor to hold their hand when you no longer can?

We invite you to take advantage of our specialized legal services for families with a Initial Estate Planning Session.  Call our office today at 720-248-7621 to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk about designing an estate plan that fits the needs of you and your family.

Filed Under: Colorado Estate Law Information, Family Estate Planning, Kids Protection Planning ·

Vacations are the Perfect Time for Families To Talk About Estate Planning

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Memorial Weekend is coming, and it traditionally has marked the start of the “summer” season.   I know we will be hosting and attending BBQs and neighborhood gatherings.   We are also busy finalizing summer plans.    These plans, like those of most Americans, include visiting with our extended families.  While there are few perfect times to talk with parents about their estate plan, the relaxed times you spend together on vacation can be one of them.

Here are some tips on how to conduct this critical conversation:

Find a good place to start.  One of the best ways to ease your parents into a financial discussion is to bring up your own.  Tell your parents that you were looking into your own estate plan and wondering if they had already executed their own.  Sometimes you can use scare tactics to good effect – there are usually a lots of stories about celebrities or others who have neglected to plan and paid the price with dire consequences.  If you missed these headlines,  read our March Newsletter for an article on the late Paul Walker’s estate.

Take it easy.  If you feel that parents may need some help with organizing their financial lives, be reassuring rather than applying pressure.  Let them know that you want to make sure their financial independence is kept intact for as long as possible.  Take things one step at a time, such as extending an offer to help them use online bill pay or assist them with organizing their information at tax time.

Respect boundaries.  Many parents feel uncomfortable discussing their finances with their children.  If you face this obstacle, let your parents know that you at least need to know where to find their important documents, or who does know where to find these documents besides them.   Reassure them that you aren’t attempting to control them in anyway but you simply want to help and make things as easy as possible for you and your siblings when something does happen.

Offer options.   Discuss the safety of important documents and suggest they either use a safety deposit box or fire-proof, water-proof safe for originals and have a third party, such as an attorney, financial planner, one of the family, or a trusted friend keep copies.   Learn and share information about services such as DocuBank, that provide online storage of medical directives and other important healthcare information and the importance of everyone’s primary care doctor having copies of these documents as well.

Sometimes initiating a conversation with parents about estate planning can be easier with the help of a Personal Family Lawyer®.   At Holmes Shirley Law, we can help.  Call our office today at 720-241-7621 to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk about designing an estate plan that fits the needs of you and your family.

Filed Under: Colorado Estate Law Information, Elder Care, Family Estate Planning, Health and Wellness, Power of Attorney, Tax Planning ·

How Advance Medical Directives Became a Way of Life in One American Town

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This is a heart warming story about a town has done what National Healthcare Directives Day hopes to achieve for all of America…

With just over 50,000 residents, La Crosse is a lot like other small American towns – but there is one thing that makes La Crosse stand out:  96% of La Crosse residents who have died have had an advance medical directive in place.  Nationally, the percentage of Americans with an advance directive stands at about 30%.

Actually, there are two things that make La Crosse stand out:  the town also has lower healthcare costs than any other place in the U.S.  And these two things – a high incidence of residents with advance directives and low healthcare costs — are inextricably linked.

According to a recent NPR story, all this came about because of one man:  Dr. Bud Hammes, Medical Humanities Director at Gundersen Hospital in La Crosse.  Dr.Hammes often found himself sitting with families of terminally ill patients, trying to figure out what to do next.  He said the conversations were excruciating: “Did mom ever say anything to you?” “Do you know what dad wants?”  He said that the moral distress of the families was tangible.

Dr. Hammes knew that this could be avoided, since most patients were usually sick for years.  So he started training nurses to ask patients if they wanted to sign an advance directive and over the years planning for death has become a way of life in La Crosse.

And the lower healthcare costs?  Dr. Hammes said that the reduction in spending was an accident, a byproduct of letting people make their own choices.  He said that when you let patients choose and direct their care, they often make a much less expensive choice.

You can listen to the entire NPR story here:

NPR: Living Wills are the Talk of The Town in La Crosse, Wis.

Making end of life plans is one of the most comforting things you can do for your loved ones.  We strongly believe in the importance of this for every adult, and encourage families to have conversations about each others wishes.  To put the proper protections in place for your family, contact our office at 720-248-7621 to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk.  We normally charge $500 for an Initial Estate Planning Session, but because this planning is so important, I’ve made space for the next two people who mention this article to have a complete planning session at no charge. Call today and mention this article.

Filed Under: Colorado Estate Law Information, Elder Care, Family Estate Planning, Health and Wellness, Kids Protection Planning, Power of Attorney ·

National Healthcare Decisions Day – April 16th

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nhddlogo

Holmes Shirley Law, along with other national, state and community organizations, will be involved with National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD).  This is a national effort to highlight the importance of advance healthcare decision-making.

Having swift and immediate access to well-drafted healthcare directives in a medical emergency can reduce stress on patients, hospital staff, and most importantly, loved ones.   Additionally, making healthcare decisions before an actual medical emergency is critical.  

The comprehensive estate plans provided by Holmes Shirley Law include the personalized healthcare directives that clients need in a medical emergency.  These documents can include a healthcare power of attorney, living will, HIPAA release, among others.   Our firm also emphasizes to clients the importance of talking to their family about their wishes.  These conversations can make difficult situations later on much easier.  

Holmes Shirley Law also takes its commitment to healthcare decisions one step further by making sure that clients’ healthcare directives are immediately available to family members and to the hospital in an emergency.  With a membership in DocuBank provided as part of all estate planning done with Holmes Shirley Law, clients know that a hospital can get their legal directives and other critical medical information around the clock, just by carrying a wallet card.

In honor of NHDD, Holmes Shirley Law is providing information and tools for the public to talk about their wishes with family, friends and healthcare providers.  The firm can also assist with the execution of written advance directives (healthcare power of attorney and living will) in accordance with Colorado state laws.

Specifically, on April 16, Holmes Shirley Law will be hosting an informational session on healthcare directives at 9:30 am at their office in downtown Castle Rock as well as offering ½ off preparation of simple healthcare documents (a $125.00 savings) from 10:30 am until 2:30 pm.  Space is limited so please contact us at 720-248-7621 to reserve your spot or visit their website at: www.ColoradoEstateLaw.com for more information.

Other good information about National Healthcare Decisions Day is available at www.nhdd.org and www.docubank.org.

Filed Under: Colorado Estate Law Information, Elder Care, Family Estate Planning, Health and Wellness, Power of Attorney ·

What’s Changed in Your Life?

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Estate planning is not a “set it and forget it” kind of thing. Your life changes, your assets change, the laws change — and if your plan doesn’t change, your family gets caught holding the bag. The people you love most end up bearing the brunt of your failure to act.

Conducting a proper review of your estate plan will help identify the potential need to update your plan because of:

Life transitions:  Have any babies been born, loved ones died, people gotten divorced or married?   If so, you need to revisit your plan.

Changes in the law:  Changes in federal and state tax laws may require updates to your healthcare and financial powers of attorney. State regulations can also be revised to open up new wealth planning strategies that should be a part of your estate plan.

Changes in assets:  Has your net worth gone up or down?  Have you invested in any new assets, such as businesses,  opened new bank accounts, retirement accounts, insurance policies, real estate or anything similar?  If so, your plan needs to be revisited.  And the spreadsheet of assets you have for your family (you DO have one, right?) needs updating.

Funding of assets and beneficiary designations:  One of the most common mistakes people make is not properly completing the transfer of assets into a trust within their estate plan.  Another common error is having beneficiary designations that are inconsistent with the distribution language in the estate plan.  We recommend a review of those matters annually.

If you do not review your plan and update it regularly, your family will have to deal with the consequences. If you would like more information about creating or updating your estate plan, call our office today at 720-248-7621 to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk. We normally charge $750 for an Estate Plan Review but if you are an existing client, we’ll waive that fee and if you are coming to us for the first time and book an appointment in April or May, we will waive all but $250 of the fee.  Call 720-248-7621 today and mention this article.

Filed Under: Colorado Estate Law Information, Family Estate Planning, Kids Protection Planning, Power of Attorney, Tax Planning ·

Upcoming Kids Protection Planning Presentation

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Please join us on Wednesday, March 12th at 9:30am at Cookies and Crema in Castle Rock for a free one hour presentation on Kids Protection Planning.

In this educational, informative, empowering class —for parents with children at home —local mom and attorney Karen H. Shirley will cover what you need to know about making sure your kids are taken care of by the people you want, in the way you want, no matter want.  Karen will guide you to take charge and ensure you have done the right thing by your family.

During this no-charge class, you will discover:

  • The 6 most common mistakes parents make when naming guardians, even when working with a lawyer — and how to fix them.
  • How to choose the right guardians for your children and make sure your children are never taken from your home or placed with strangers if something happens to you.
  • How to make sure your assets are immediately and privately available to the people you’ve named to care for your children.
  • Why a Will alone is simply not enough to make sure your kids are taken care of the way you want, by the people you want, no matter what.

Those attending will be entered into a drawing to win a copy of the book “Wear Clean Underwear! A Fast, Fun, Friendly – and Essential – Guide to Legal Planning for Busy Parents” by Alexis Martin Neely.  Space is limited, so reserve your spot by calling 720-248-7621 or registering online.

Filed Under: Colorado Estate Law Information, Family Estate Planning, Guardianship, Kids Protection Planning ·

5 Steps to Preserve Liability Protection

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Business owners of any size should make sure that they have protected their personal assets from business liabilities. This matters whether you run a multi-million dollar corporation with hundreds of employees or simply own a couple rental properties.  

Business owners often choose to operate their companies as a Limited Liability Company (LLC) or Corporation (usually as an S-Corporation), since these business structures provide what is known as a “liability shield”. However, a court can dissolve this liability shield (pierce the corporate veil) if the proper steps are not taken by the business owner to keep this shield in place.

If you operate an LLC or S-Corporation, be sure you have taken these five important steps to preserve your liability protection:

1.  Don’t use it to commit misconduct. If you use your business entity to commit serious misconduct or fraud, a court could likely “pierce the veil” and hold you personally liable for business claims.

2.  Always use the name of the entity on contracts and business communication.  Business owners should not sign contracts or any important business communication with their personal names.  Use the name of your LLC or Corporation in all business dealings so it is clear to third parties that they are dealing with an entity and not you personally.

3.  Keep business and personal finances separate.  There should be no overlap of business and personal finances.  Maintain separate bank accounts and records for your personal accounts and business accounts. This includes credit cards and other debt or loans associated with the business or personal property.

4.  Follow the rules.  While the rules for an LLC are less stringent than those for a corporation, a limited liability company still requires an operating agreement and needs to track and document its business decisions.  For a Corporation, you require bylaws, annual meeting minutes, and corporate resolutions.  Make sure that you file your annual report and keep your registered agent information up-to-date with the Colorado Secretary of State.  An easy way to do this is to sign up for email notifications. If you need support with compliance, let us know. We can help.

5.  Be sure the business is adequately capitalized.  If a business entity lacks adequate capitalization and something goes wrong, that may cause a court to pierce the veil of the business.

If you have questions about taking the right steps to protect your existing business or have not yet set-up a  business entity to protect your personal assets from business liabilities, call us today at 720-248-7621 to schedule an appointment to see how our firm can help you.

Filed Under: Colorado Business Law, Colorado Estate Law Information, Small Business Education ·
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