Tag: wealth management

Conference Call: What Tax and Estate Planning Must You Be Prepared to Implement Before December 31st

October 19, 2020 - Conference Call, Guidance

It’s important to anticipate potential 2020 Election outcomes as you steer your estate planning. What specific actions should you consider taking before 2021? Listen to McManus & Associates Founding Principal John O. McManus’s recent guidance to clients:

1.    How will a change in the administration impact income taxes? Ordinary income and capital gains rates are expected to rise for families making in excess of $400k and many favorable income tax benefits may be limited or eliminated. 

2.    Likewise, what will Vice President Biden’s possible election mean for the ability to transfer wealth? The gift and estate tax exemptions will almost certainly be reduced by at least 50% with a possibility that gift and estate tax rates may increase to 50% or beyond. 

3.    What current financial indicators make this period of time a helpful environment for wealth transfers? Undervalued assets and business interests due to the pandemic and continuing rock-bottom interest rates are positive elements that foster that success of certain transfer strategies. 

4.    Why should you consider gifting closely-held businesses and interests in other private family entities before year-end? During President Obama’s tenure, Treasury Regulations were proposed that would eliminate valuation discounts between family members (and other wealth transfer tools) and it is possible that those restrictions will be revisited if a shift in control of government occurs.

McManus & Associates can help you take advantage of this window of opportunity before it closes. Call us today at 908-898-0100.

Conference Call: 10 Tax Planning To-Dos to Check Off Your List before the End of 2018

November 27, 2018 - Conference Call

With only one month left in 2018, time is running out to finish your wealth management to-dos. We’ve made your list, but it’s time to check it twice.

Today, McManus & Associates held a call with clients to provide guidance on the items below. Click to hear the half-hour discussion led by the firm’s Founding Principal John O. McManus:

 

1.  FREELY GIVE: Make annual exclusion gifts up to $15,000 for individuals and $30,000 for married couples, per chosen loved one.

2.  REAP (LOSSES TO OFFSET) WHAT YOU’VE SOWED: Harvest losses to offset capital gains in your securities portfolio.

3.  MIND YOUR HEALTH: Take advantage of this year’s lower threshold for Medical Expenses.

4.  USE A TAX RATE IN ITS INFANCY: Review your children’s portfolio income for application of the revised Kiddie Tax.

5. GIVE THOUGHT TO GIVING: Bunch your charitable deductions in the same year. The deduction for cash donations to public charities has increased to 60% of the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income.

6.   FUEL INVESTMENT VEHICLES: Establish and fund qualified plan contributions.

7.  TAKE A BREAK TO RECONSIDER BREAK-UPS: If planning to execute a divorce or separation agreement, you may want to do so before year-end. Otherwise, moving forward, the payer of alimony will no longer get a deduction on his or her tax return, and the recipient will no longer have to include the alimony as taxable income.

8.  DON’T WAIT TO COMPENSATE (YOURSELF):

An owner of an S Corp must pay themselves a reasonable compensation (what someone in a similar job would be paid). Therefore, make sure you pay yourself a salary before year- end.

9.  RESERVE TIME TO REVIEW YOUR WITHHOLDING:

The 2017 Tax Act lowered the tax rates and changed the tax bracket income ranges. Therefore, now is the time to do a “check-up” to see if your current tax withholding will be sufficient for next year’s income.

10.  MAKE A MOVE: Make distributions of income from trust accounts and estate accounts to lower their income tax liability.

McManus Interviewed for Wall Street Journal’s “Watching Your Wealth” Podcast

May 4, 2017 - Guidance, Media Clips

In the Wall Street Journal’s newest “Watching Your Wealth” podcast, Veronica Dagher interviews McManus & Associates Founding Principal John O. McManus on red flags that warn you your adult kids are using you for your money and/or are trying to get a bigger share of your estate. In the episode, Veronica does a “fun estate planning quiz” with John, as well, and asks him to share the best and worst estate planning advice he’s ever heard, what an estate can and can’t buy, and what he would do with $1M after tax if he inherited it.

Click here to listen to the quick, 11-minute episode: http://bit.ly/2pckWFo

To set up a time to discuss the family dynamics impacting your estate plan with the McManus & Associates team, give us a call at 908-898-0100.

Are Your Adult Children Using You For Your Money?

McManus & Associates’ John McManus discusses the red flags your children may be taking advantage of you financially and how to better communicate with them about money.

11 min: LISTEN

 

Conference Call: Top 10 Ways to Solidify an Estate Plan Post-Execution

March 2, 2017 - Conference Call, Guidance

Execute and shelve is not an effective approach to estate planning. McManus & Associates, a top-rated estate planning law firm celebrating 25 years of success, today revealed the “Top 10 Ways to Solidify an Estate Plan Post-Execution,” a recent installment in its Educational Focus Series. During a conference call with clients, the firm’s Founding Principal and AV-rated Attorney John O. McManus shared tips on how to build a solid and complete Estate Plan to protect and nurture your family today and for generations to come.

“To make your estate plan solid, there are numerous issues to consider and actions to be taken that extend far beyond drafting documents,” commented McManus. “Building a foundation through strategic planning and establishing the framework for one’s legacy are important steps, but until all the core elements of the structure are in place, there’s more work to do.

“Today, in the Trump Era, with all the uncertainty about where the estate tax and income tax regimes converge and diverge, it is critical to ensure that core protection work is completed as we batten down the hatches, protecting for the storm of changes most certainly on the horizon. To ignore fully completing this core work as we await changes to more complex tax issues is not the most conservative approach. In fact, some have said that to neglect core planning is tantamount to being reckless with one’s loved ones.

McManus added, “As family dynamics and the legal environment evolve, it’s particularly important after the core work is completed to revisit and revise that portion of one’s estate plan, as needed.”

LISTEN HERE for details: “Top 10 Ways to Solidify an Estate Plan Post-Execution”

McManus’ Insight on Modern Estate Planning Featured in NJBIZ Wealth Issue

July 8, 2016 - Media Clips

Last week, McManus & Associates Founding Principal John O. McManus was featured in NJBIZ‘s Wealth Issue. The piece, “A GUIDING HAND – McManus: Estate planning is increasingly complex,” includes a Q&A with John and highlights his insights on trends in how the ultra-wealthy protect their assets and their families.
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John pic - NJ BIZ

A GUIDING HAND: McManus: Estate planning is increasingly complex

By NJBIZ STAFF, July 7, 2016 at 10:29 AM

John McManus has spent more than 25 years as a guiding hand for high net worth families and individuals, but it was an experience with his own family that helped shape his career.

Conference Call: Tax and Estate Planning Considerations for Same-Sex Couples

June 21, 2016 - Conference Call, Press Releases

Nearly a year ago, on June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges, delivering a historic decision in favor of State recognition for same-sex marriage. Exactly two years prior to this decision, in United States v. Windsor, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the constitutionality of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defined marriage for federal purposes as existing only between one man and one woman.

“In its most basic terms, recognition of same-sex marriage equates to the simple fact that a spouse is now a spouse, irrespective of gender, in the eyes of the law,” commented McManus. “Today, there are opportunities and protections within reach for same-sex couples that were unavailable during most of American history.”

Recently, during a conference call with clients, McManus & Associates Founding Principal John O. McManus shed light on the far-reaching effects of these Supreme Court decisions.

LISTEN HERE for details: “Top 10 Tax and Estate Planning Considerations for Same-Sex Couples”

McManus Interviewed by The Washington Post on Money Milestones

September 23, 2015 - Media Clips

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Washington Post Reporter Jonnelle Marte recently interviewed McManus & Associates Founding Principal John O. McManus on financial goals that people should aim to achieve in their 40s. Jonnelle’s piece, “5 Money Milestones to Hit While You’re in Your 40s,” was published last week and re-published by Tulsa World on Sunday.

McManus’ insight informs two milestones from the article: one related to wills & estate planning and the other life insurance. From the story, here’s Milestone #4:

4. Update your will and estate plan: A few things may have changed since you last reviewed your will. You might have had another child, gotten divorced or been newly married. These changes would make it time to update your will to make sure your home, savings and other assets will go to the appropriate people after you die, Turner says. “If your ex-spouse is the beneficiary for your retirement plan you want to change that,” Turner says, adding that people should double check the beneficiaries for your 401(k) and life insurance policies.

The rules for how a person’s estate will be broken up after death vary from state to state, says Peter Creedon, a financial adviser in Mount Sinai, N.Y. For instance, some states may pass assets on to a domestic partner while other states will not, Creedon says, making the will the best method for explaining who should inherit assets. Talk to a lawyer or financial adviser about getting the documents in order. People with simple situations may get by using online services such as LegalZoom, which will create a will for prices starting at $69.

Parents should name guardians and put together a plan for what should happen to their children if they died, says John O. McManus, a trusts and estates lawyer in New York City. Those instructions can include guidelines for medical treatment and preferences on what type of school they would like their child to attend, he says. Parents who have amassed a sizeable amount of savings — think millions — may want to create a trust that would help them pass the money on to their children in a tax efficient way, he says.

Trusts & Estates, WealthManagement.com Publishes Guest Article from McManus on Coordination of Income Tax and Estate Planning

April 2, 2015 - Media Clips

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Combine Income Tax Preparation and Estate Planning

Coordination is key

Apr 1, 2015 John McManus Trusts & Estates

When tackling a jigsaw puzzle, you’ve likely taken the “divide and conquer” approach, separating the larger puzzle into more manageable sections. Eventually, you bring the different areas of focus together to put the finishing touches on the full image.

Wealth management is the same. Estate planning emphasizes an array of complex matters spanning death taxes, asset protection, incapacity, guardianship and family missions. Compartmentalizing can be helpful, but advisors must remember to bring the pieces of the puzzle back together in the end. It’s critical that strategies to maximize the value of your clients’ estates are coordinated with their retirement, financial and income tax planning.

Top 9 Estate Planning Tasks to Complete before Year-End

December 17, 2014 - Conference Call

The holiday season represents a window of opportunity for growing and preserving wealth. McManus & Associates today outlined the “Top 9 Estate Planning Tasks to Complete before Year-End”. As part of the firm’s educational focus series, Founding Principal and top AV-rated Attorney John O. McManus recently discussed time-sensitive recommendations for building your nest egg and reducing your check to Uncle Sam for Tax Year 2014.