… for most Americans, avoiding estate tax should not and was not the main goal of planning. Rather, taking care of relatives in a thoughtful manner was the primary focus. That should continue and, even though estate tax avoidance may not be the primary consideration, tax reduction should continue to be a major part of planning even for the less than super affluent property owners. Continue reading

For professionals who work with veterans, their surviving spouses and families, the final regulations bring significant changes to the considerations that bear on their planning for such individuals. The final regulations made major changes in three areas that will impact planning for the Aid & Attendance pension benefit: the calculation of net worth, an expansion of the types of expenses which can be taken as unreimbursed medical deductions from income, and the imposition of a three-year look back period for certain transfers, and penalties for such transfers. Continue reading

By Joanne Marcus, MSW, and Karen Dunivan Konvicka, Esq., Commonwealth Community Trust This article was originally published in "NAELA News." The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and are not to be construed as an endorsement by NAELA or InterActive Legal. When the call comes from... Continue reading

By Teresa L. Bush, Esq., Director of Education and Support Services, InterActive Legal My great-grandfather emigrated to the USA as a teenager from a country that no longer exists, and was a cobbler by trade. I treasure his two iron shoe stands passed down to me, because they are symbols... Continue reading

Megan Respol has left her role as InterActive Legal's Finance & Operations Coordinator to pursue a Master’s in Criminology at Florida State University’s College of Criminal Justice. Megan served her role well, having been baptized by hurricanes a year ago when she arrived just as the office was battening down... Continue reading

by Candace Wells, COO and Law Business Strategist, Attorney Alchemy You’ve probably heard that policies, procedures, systems, and processes will not only save your sanity, but also make you and your team more efficient. Maybe you even “get” it and want to document your processes, but don’t know where to... Continue reading

Practitioners who regularly work with special needs clients are probably aware that the Social Security Administration ("SSA") released revisions to the Program Operating Manual System ("POMS") on April 30, 2018. But since many of us are still processing the revisions, I hope to highlight some of them for those of us who are between CLE sessions. Continue reading

InterActive Legal was recently certified by Industry Era, a digital technology magazine that features enterprise solutions that can play a key part in redefining the business goals of organizations, as one of the “10 Best Technology Solution Providers of 2018”. Continue reading

You’ve spent months, years - maybe even decades - serving your clients and building your business. You’ve probably spent just as long assembling the team that helps you do it all. You brought them onboard, trained them; you know they know what they’re doing and they do a good job. You may even give your team pretty regular feedback so they continue to improve and learn how to do new things. Maybe you go a step further and conduct a formal review every year. This is probably the time that you discuss job performance and maybe dole out a raise or two. Bravo! These are all the trademarks of a good boss and you’re probably miles ahead of the curve. But, have you ever coached your team? Continue reading

Melbourne, FL - InterActive Legal, a knowledge company and software solutions provider in the legal arena of trusts and estates, elder law, and special needs planning, announced this month the promotion of its 5-year veteran Director of Content Development, Vanessa Kanaga, to the office of President effective July 1st, 2018.... Continue reading

Letha Sgritta McDowell, CELA, InterActive Legal On April 17, 2018, the acting director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a policy clarification to all state Medicaid Directors regarding the imposition of penalty periods for individuals requesting Home and Community Based Services. The reaction to this guidance is... Continue reading

Hiring a new employee is an exciting time in your business. If it’s time to hire some help, it means you’ve met your goals and are anticipating more growth. Continue reading

Vanessa L. Kanaga, InterActive Legal If you are like most of my colleagues, the title of this piece had you grinding your teeth. In the hopes that you might consider me a credible source and continue reading, allow me to state that I know the term "irregardless" is generally considered... Continue reading

With over 2.6 million deaths in the U.S. each year, family offices, wealth managers, loved ones and attorneys are often not prepared to effectively erase an electronic footprint and secure digital assets of the deceased. Continue reading

Visit Teresa's bio, here. Continue reading

Sally Chung, CFP, ChFC, JD, Elder Law Planning® subscriber, bestows a “basket of thanks” upon InterActive Legal’s Teresa Bush Recently, InterActive Legal Director of Education and Support Services, Teresa Bush, received a sincere and generous “Thank You” from subscriber Sally Chung, who migrated over from a competitor in the Elder... Continue reading

The Clayton QTIP works very much like a disclaimer, because both are post-mortem tools for funding a bypass trust. Continue reading

Some attorneys feel that Elder Law and Estate Planning are distinct disciplines, and that a focus on one or the other for each individual client is critical. Others are of the opinion that Elder Law is really just good Estate Planning. Said another way, Estate Planning itself is already the... Continue reading

Elizabeth Q. Boehmcke hired as Content Attorney Melbourne, FL — InterActive Legal is pleased to welcome estate and elder law planning attorney Elizabeth Q. Boehmcke to the company’s growing legal team. As the newest of InterActive Legal’s dedicated on-staff attorneys, Beth will work with the other members of the Content... Continue reading

On February 15, 2018, STEP Orange County recognized Jonathan Blattmachr, the Founder of Pioneer Wealth Partners, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Interactive Legal, and Director of Estate Planning of Peak Trust Company, for his decades of contribution to the estate planning industry. He was awarded with STEP Orange County’s first Lifetime of Service Award. Continue reading

Author: Joanne Marcus, MSW Commonwealth Community Trust, Richmond, VA This is the third article in a series on Pooled Special Needs Trusts. Click here to read the first installment, An Overlooked Planning Option: Pooled Special Needs Trust. Medicare Set Asides (MSAs) are common in the Workers’ Comp field and may... Continue reading

A brand new book, Estate Planning Under the 2017 Tax Reconciliation Act, by Martin Shenkman, Jonathan Blattmachr, and Joy Matak explains many of the new provisions of this far reaching legislation and explores how planning will change, with an emphasis on estate and transfer tax planning and tax planning for individuals. Continue reading

Author: Charley Mann, Chief Marketing Officer, Great Legal Marketing Rolling over into a new year has special implications for any attorney dealing with long-term financial planning, such as estate planning, elder law, and special needs planning. Many “planning attorneys” like you are handling responsibilities with tax season for clients and... Continue reading

Due to changes brought about by the new tax law, some charitably-motivated clients may wish to act now to make the most of the charitable deduction. Continue reading

The number one concern among Beneficiaries and Advocates regarding a pooled special needs trust (PSNT) is understanding how the trust and disbursement process work. Accessing the trust and requesting disbursements should not be frustrating. Upfront explanation of how the disbursement process works and how and why decisions are made can help your client avoid confusion. Continue reading