Trusts can serve many purposes in an estate plan, from managing assets during your lifetime to controlling how property passes to beneficiaries after your death. Two broad categories are inter vivos trusts and testamentary trusts. Although both can help manage assets, they differ in when they’re funded and take effect and how they’re used in […]

Life insurance can provide critical financial protection for the people who depend on you or help you achieve other estate planning goals. But to serve its intended purpose, the coverage amount, policy type, ownership structure and beneficiary designations must all be carefully considered. Determine how much coverage you need There’s no universal formula for calculating […]

To attract and retain skilled workers, your small business needs to offer more than competitive pay. Your benefits package matters, too — and benefits with favorable tax treatment can be even more valuable to prospective and existing employees. Open enrollment is right around the corner for many businesses. As you review your benefits package for […]

Do you hold an interest in a business that’s closely held or family owned? If so, a buy-sell agreement should be a component of your estate plan. It establishes how your ownership interest (and those of other owners) will be handled following certain triggering events, including death, disability, divorce, retirement, termination of employment or withdrawal […]

Trading items or services — without exchanging cash — has long been common among small businesses. Today, some use online barter exchanges to facilitate trades. In addition to preserving cash flow, these types of transactions may expand your purchasing power, help you move overstocked inventory and increase your business’s exposure to new markets. But bartering […]

The death of a spouse brings significant personal and financial changes, including important tax considerations. One question surviving spouses face is how to file their federal income tax returns for the year of death. In many cases, a surviving spouse can file a joint return with the deceased spouse for that year, potentially preserving lower […]

Many small businesses start out as sole proprietorships. This structure is simple and inexpensive to establish and maintain — and it gives the owner direct access to profits without having to take formal distributions. But it also makes your taxes more complicated than when you were a W-2 employee. Here are some federal tax issues […]