Month: February 2020

  • Coronavirus Preparation 101

    Coronavirus or COVD-19 is serious. From an estate planning perspective, I encourage families, especially the young and old, to prepare for any outbreak, not just a #CoronavirusOutbreak 🤢. This goes for our frontlines too.

    ‪How Does One Prepare for A Global Virus?‬

    One’s health is most critical. For this reason, I like the idea of putting documents in place such that loved ones can act on my behalf. This starts with:

    • Updated Health Care Directives‬,
    • ‪HIPPA Authorizations‬,
    • ‪Durable POA, and
    • ‪Updating other relevant docs‬ like a Will, Trust, and transfer deeds.

    Coronavirus Frontlines

    Of course, preparation is critical for everybody. However, assisting one’s family to offer support starts with attention to our frontlines.

    This includes our:

    • Military
    • Health Care Providers
    • First Responders
    • Elderly
    • School Employees
    • Transportation Employees

    Be prepared and stay safe 🙏

  • Are You An Eligible Designated Beneficiary?

    Are You An Eligible Designated Beneficiary?

    Eligible Designated Beneficiary or EDB is a term created by the SECURE Act under IRS rule 401(a)(9).

    An EDB is a person who has lifetime distribution opportunities to an Individual Retirement Account or IRA. Because this new rule set changes required minimum distribution rules, an EDB designation is significant.

    In general, an Eligible Designated Beneficiary is a:

    • Surviving spouse to an employee or owner of an individual retirement account,
    • A Child of an IRA owner who has not reached the age of majority,
    • A beneficiary who is also disabled under rule 72(m)(7),
    • A chronically ill person within the meaning of section 7702B(c)(2), and
    • An individual who is not more than 10 years younger than the employee or owner of a retirement plan.

    Because this term modifies the rules where a person dies before distributions from an IRA are completed, this new rule impacts both the young and old.

  • Where is the SECURE Act?

    Where is the SECURE Act is trending on the internet. Why? Because finding the text to this new law is nearly impossible to find online.

    Even worse, the general public is left with editorial feedback on the rule change without having an accurate resource to read the law for themselves.

    Luckily, there is an answer.

    Finding the SECURE Act in Other Places

    Currently, a better way to find a copy of the SECURE Act is to review a congressional report called 165 Cong. Rec. H 10386.

    Another way of finding information about this update to our tax code is by looking at any of these federal reports:

    • H. Rept. 98-1159
    • Conf. Rept. 105-217
    • S. Rept. 114-79
    • H. Rept. 116-62
    • H. Rept. 116-78
    • H. Rept. 116-107
    • S. Rept. 116-126
    • H. Rept. 116-353

    As a reminder, this new law is a fancy way of saying our IRS rules and statues were updated.

    In the future, and hopefully sooner than later, everyone will be able to access an updated 26 U.S. Code 26, the chapter of laws devoted to the Internal Revenue Code, using free resources online. This will be significant for families and Eligible Designated Beneficiaries.

    Final Thoughts on Finding the Secure Act?

    In the meantime, the best way to find the SECURE Act is to utilize paid legal subscriptions.

    On the other hand, another option and a highly unutilized resources is visiting local law libraries open to the general public.