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What is the Gift Tax and How Does it Work?

Posted on November 22, 2021 by

Last week, I provided a brief overview of the gift tax in a vlog.  You can view the vlog here.  In this blog post, I’ll expand on basic gift tax concepts, just in time to make your holiday gifts. What is the gift tax?  Basically, the gift tax is a tax imposed on the gratuitous […]

Gift Tax Basics

Posted on November 17, 2021 by

As the holiday season approaches, Attorney Shanna Yonke shares insight regarding a topic at the top of client’s mind – what amount can be gifted without tax consequences? Video Transcript: My name is Shanna Yonke, and I’m an attorney on Ruder Ware’s Estate Planning Team. As the holiday season approaches, I will share basic information […]

Protecting Your Inheritance

Posted on September 20, 2021 by

So you’ve received an inheritance and you’re married. The person who left you the inheritance probably intended for it to benefit you, not your spouse, if you get divorced. How do you protect the inheritance? Wisconsin law provides limited protection.  Under Wisconsin’s Marital Property Act, which governs the classification of assets during marriage and on […]

Estate Planning Considerations for Unmarried Individuals

Posted on September 1, 2021 by

Estate planning is a process that must be customized to fit each individual’s unique situation.  Each individual has their own priorities and issues to address.  The priorities and issues for an unmarried individual are often different than those for married couples.  Some of the common priorities and issues that arise in estate planning for unmarried […]

Add “Powers of Attorney” to Your College Student’s Back-to-School Checklist

Posted on August 4, 2021 by

If you’re preparing to send a child off to college this fall, you should add two documents to your back-to-school checklist: (1) a power of attorney for health care, and (2) a durable power of attorney for finances.  Without these two documents, you may not have the authority to make health care decisions or manage […]

What is Probate?

Posted on July 29, 2021 by

Attorney Ashley Hawley walks viewers through what’s involved in the probate process in her latest video. Video Transcript: Hi, I’m Ashley Hawley. I’m an attorney at Ruder Ware in the Trust & Estates Department. Let’s talk probate. Probate is the core process of transferring assets out of a deceased individual’s name and into the names […]

Step-By-Step Overview of Probate

Posted on July 22, 2021 by

“Probate” is a legal term for the Court process of transferring assets out of a deceased person’s name and to that person’s heirs and/or beneficiaries.  The difference between the term “heir” and the term “beneficiary” is that an heir is someone who is entitled to receive the assets of a deceased person who died without […]

Plan Ahead to Make Summer Memories at the Family Cabin Last Forever

Posted on June 29, 2021 by

Summertime is a special time of year in Wisconsin. It brings many families to cabins where they make memories and traditions that will last forever. So, how do you make sure that these memory-making summers last for generations?  Attorney Shanna Yonke explain how you can plan for the long-term ownership and management of your cabin […]

Plan Ahead to Make Summer Memories at the Family Cabin Last Forever

Posted on June 16, 2021 by

Summertime is a special time of year in Wisconsin.  It brings many families to cabins where they create memories and traditions that will be cherished forever.  However, many problems arise if families do not create a plan for the future ownership and management of the family cabin.  The cabin may be subject to the claims […]

IRS Releases Publication on RMDs for Inherited Retirement Benefits (and, of course, creates confusion)

Posted on April 19, 2021 by and

Ruder Ware’s Trusts & Estates blog has featured several posts (for example, Call to Action: Review Your Estate Plan in Light of the SECURE Act and Why SECURE Act Matters to You) on the SECURE Act, a federal law effective January 1, 2020,  that made significant changes to the payout provisions of inherited retirement benefits, […]