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The best place to express your desires for health care is within the four corners of a legal document, to wit: a health care power of attorney, advance directive, and a records release. Learn why in this episode and how you can create your own set of documents. You will also learn why care costs are so expensive and what that means for many patients. The reason the medical services industry is the most frequent target of cyber break-ins and theft also explains why so many go broke in retirement. Protecting yourself and your assets require and understanding of why care is so expensive. The Law has solutions but it takes effort. Health Care Documents - intro to 18:00 especially the Power of Attorney and Advance Directive. Will a Power of Attorney help you end your pain if your state allows physician-assisted suicide? Medicare Part D and the cost of prescription drugs - 16:00 Median net worth - 19:20 Think strategically about care - 22:10 Definition of plan at 23:00 Hacker answer at 23:20 What happens when you are sick and can't afford care? 24:30 one Learn more about Medicaid: https://tinyurl.com/3fm4md2r

Three wealth taxes are estate tax, capital gains tax, and a new concept: a tax on your investments. Regardless of what you call them, they erode your family's wealth. This episode looks at how one state, Washington, has enacted two new wealth taxes at a time when thirty states gave back to taxpayers.(See note below). Learn how federal and state taxes on wealth work, and how to leverage the exemptions available to avoid unnecessary taxation. Key Points: - Twelve states have their own estate tax. Ten do not allow each spouse to claim an individual exemption for a total of two. A credit shelter trust solves this problem and is easy to implement. - Seven state legislatures have bill proposals to tax wealth. One state hopes to assess a 1% wealth tax on non-qualified investments wherever located in the world. - Capital gains tax is an income tax but assessed against the value of the property when sold. In this sense, it taxes wealth, reduces your net worth, and leaves less to leave as a legacy. Resources and links: Three State Wealth Taxes Estate Tax Masterclass Case Study: In November 2022, the Washington Department of Revenue reported a 6% increase in its revenue. It now sits on a $15 billion dollar surplus, the largest in state history. Major General Fund-State (GF-S) revenue collections for the December 11, 2022 – January 10, 2023 collection period came in $87.8 million (3.9%) higher than forecasted in November. Cumulatively, collections are $83.3 million (1.4%) above the forecast.

In this episode, I interviewed a great attorney in Minnesota, his name is Andrew Ayers. He is a business planning and personal planning attorney and is also licensed in New York. We will give you great tips on what to look for when you are hiring an attorney in your state, or in your community, like the hidden secrets of picking a good lawyer from the perspective of two lawyers who have no dog in that fight, really.  We will talk about rental properties and LLCs, and even if you do not have a rental property but just trying to figure out whether you should bother with forming your business as a limited liability company and making that all-important tax selection for S-Corp.  Listen in to old salts talk about law, talk about the weather, and yuk it up. To learn more about Andrew, you can go to ayerslawtv.com.

The best podcast episodes are those in which two people who sincerely want to help others connect, share stories, and lay out solutions. In this episode, Darol interviews Sarry Ibrahim, a young financial professional from Chicago, and they do just that. Sarry shows listeners can protect their privacy and assets by using a unique investment vehicle. This investment reduces risk, rows tax-deferred, and holds cash so that the investor can pay down debt to include current or future tax liabilities or leverage to diversify their portfolios.  Darol applies Sarry’s perspective to asset protection planning. In the estate tax arena, lawyers recommend lifetime gifting to an irrevocable trust to 1) reduce the value of the taxable estate and 2) pay for a future estate tax bill with pennies on the dollar. Lawyers draft the trust. The trust, however, needs an investment that appreciates tax-deferred because irrevocable trusts are taxed at the highest tax bracket. Also, the trust needs a tax-free pay out to the estate to pay for final costs, including tax. This kind of trust, in a sense, is a replacement for the amount that the estate shrinks due to the tax paid. Wealth replacement can also be used to pay back long-term care costs retroactively for the benefit of the surviving spouse. This episode will challenge your thinking. Fact-based from the experience of three and a half decades of combined experience, Darol and Sarry make the argument that listeners can build their own family bank that can grow family wealth for generations. Learn more about Sarry Ibrahim and how he can help you grow more wealth using this link: https://finassetprotection.com

Legal documents help you grow and protect your wealth, establish family decision-making, and successfully transfer your property to the next generation without unnecessary loss or stress. Illness or advanced old age may render you unable to manage your health and finances alone. In such a case, medical providers require the following legal documents: Health Care Power-of-Attorney HIPPA-compliant medical records release Advance Directive Financial Institutions require a Financial Power of Attorney. When you pass, the property you once owned will transfer to your loved ones by one of the following methods: Last Will and Testament Revocable Trust Transfer on Death Deed Beneficiary Designation If you are married, the only way to leave your property to your spouse and protect it from Medicaid spend-down and liens if they become ill is by funding a Spousal Protection Trust. Authorized by federal law, this trust also captures any estate tax credit afforded your estate. The following states have a death tax: Connecticut District of Columbia Hawaii Illinois Maine Maryland Massachusetts Minnesota New York Oregon Rhode Island Vermont Washington Federal law requires that a Will creates a Spousal Protection Trust. If you are married and wish to avail yourself of the most powerful asset protection trust in American jurisprudence, you must have a Will. Avoid living trusts or transfer-on-death deeds.

An investment is a lump sum deposit in exchange for income in the future. A business differs from investment because a business generates immediate income for its employees and dividends for its owners. The operation of a business is more time and labor-intensive than an investment. What if you could have an investment that generated immediate income without demanding time and labor? In this episode, Darol interviews Dustin Heiner, who explains how to do just that. Dustin quit his job at age 37 because he purchased several rental properties but outsourced the properties to reliable management. You can learn more about Dustin and take his free masterclass by visiting https://www.masterpassiveincome.com/freecourse You can also take Darol's free masterclass on asset protection by visiting https://boomx.biz/courses/asset-protection-masterclass/

Infinite Banking refers to a method of cash management using a carefully designed whole life insurance policy. A whole life policy distributes cash to the beneficiary when the insured dies. The insured, usually the policy owner, does not directly benefit for an obvious reason - they are dead. This begs a question - is there a reason to store cash in a whole life policy other than a tax-free death benefit? Proponents of Infinite Banking would answer "yes." In addition to a tax-free death benefit, all whole life policies also store and pay dividends or accrued interest on the deposited cash, i.e., the "cash value." A portion of this cash pays for the guaranteed death benefit. The unused portion of the cash value grows on a tax-deferred basis. Do not forget that twelve states impose an estate tax separate from a federal estate tax. Estate planning attorneys often set up irrevocable trusts to pay for imminent estate taxes at a discount because the trustee purchases a whole life policy on the life of the trustmaker. When the trustmaker dies, the death benefit pays the estate tax. The amount of premiums paid for the insurance is far less than the death benefit, which corresponds with the estate tax liability. This is a way to pay a future tax with pennies on the dollar. In addition, all trusts grow and protect family wealth for more than one generation. Trusts must have cash to distribute to help the family, e.g., college tuition, business start-ups, or even unreimbursed medical expenses. Unfortunately, an irrevocable trust pays the highest tax rate on investment returns. To avoid this, trustees favor tax-deferred and tax-free investments, such as life insurance, annuities, or municipal bonds. This episode makes the case that Infinite Banking works well in trusts to reduce estate tax and meet family goals generationally.

Darol chats with Anne-Marie Murzin, a personal and business planning attorney with the Virginia law firm General Counsel, PC., about the history of probate law and its origins, the current Supreme Court, and an important tip for business owners. To learn more about Anne Marie, check out this article about her, her practice, and her background. https://medium.com/authority-magazine/top-lawyers-ann-marie-murzin-on-the-5-things-you-need-to-become-a-top-lawyer-in-your-specific-48572a1ef624 You can also learn more about her law firm here. https://www.generalcounsellaw.com/ Old Bailey, mentioned in the conversation, is a criminal court in London and has operated since the 16th century. For efficiency, Newgate prison was located adjacent to the court until its closing in 1902. The judges of Old Bailey imposed death sentences frequently. The convicted were marched down a path called Dead Man's Walk on their way to their public executions. Along the way, crowds pummeled the condemned with insults and filth such as rotten fruit. Dead Man's Walk became the final resting place for many who were simply tossed in pits after the spectacle. You can learn more about Old Bailey and read actual court transcripts by visiting oldbailyonline.org. The Supreme Court case discussed is Dobbs vs. Jackson. Here is the link. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf The portion of the opinion discussing stare decisis can be found in the opening paragraph, to wit: "The critical question is whether the Constitution, properly understood, confers a right to obtain an abortion. Casey’s controlling opinion skipped over that question and reaffirmed Roe solely on the basis of stare decisis. A proper application of stare decisis, however, requires an assessment of the strength of the grounds on which Roe was based. The Court, therefore, turns to the question that the Casey plurality did not consider."

It is impossible to fully understand some advanced topics merely by listening to one podcast episode. Most listeners have questions about each episode and, possibly, feel frustrated that they cannot clarify specific questions in their minds. Taken from BoomX Academy weekly Office Hours, this episode presents the questions asked during the live session of Episode 38. If you had lingering questions about probate, living trusts, Sposual Protection Trusts, and Medicaid liens, this is the episode for you. In particular, the following questions are answered: Question 1: What is the difference between a Spousal Protection Trust, and a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust? Question 2: If you create a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust, do you have control over the money? Do you pay your own bills? Question 3: How do Medicaid liens and penalties work? What is the five-year rule? Question 4: Why is Puerto Rico so loud? Question 5: When you create a trust, are you required to declare the purpose and intent of a trust? Question 6: What is the best document to lay out your asset protection/retirement plan? Question 7: Why does probate get such a bad rap? The entire presentation that constitutes 38 and 39 was published on YouTube. Here is the link. https://youtu.be/cJSnbhwrcqI The Nest Egg Course can be found at boomx.biz.

Estate planning overemphasizes the transfer of asset title to a qualified heir when the asset owner has died. Estate transfer has value but not to the asset owner while they are alive. Asset protection has a different focus. Asset protection defends wealth against the modern threats to wealth, i.e., 1) unreimbursed medical expenses, 2) unnecessary taxation, 3) mismanagement, and 4) lawsuits and judgments. This video lays out the ways property transfers at death, the pros and cons of each method, and when to use each. There are three ways in which property transfers when the asset owner dies: 1) probate, 2) operation of law, and 3) transfer on death deeds and beneficiary designations. If you do not have time to watch this video and are married, learn all you can about a 42 USC trust. This trust holds the estate of the first spouse to die for the surviving spouse's benefit, and the trust's assets are not subject to Medicaid liens, spend-downs, and transfer penalties. Federal law requires this trust, a Spousal Protection Trust, to be created in a Last Will and Testament. For this reason, transfer-in-death deeds, beneficiary designations, and living trusts will not work. These asset transfer methods do not protect wealth from medical care costs, death taxes, or mismanagement. The only value proposition of such transfers is the avoidance of probate. The use of a Spousal Protection Trust does not apply to singles unless they intend to leave their estate to a loved one who is disabled. In that case, a single may use a stand-alone supplemental needs trust or the same trust described in the video.

The best podcasts are conversations between people who are authentic, proficient in their subject matter, and willing to share their knowledge to help others. This episode is just that, a candid conversation between two experienced asset protection attorneys. Join us as Darol interviews James Cunningham, founder and CEO of Cunningham Legal, a California personal and business planning law firm, and author of the Savvy Estate Planner. Jim and Darol hit it off, share stories about their careers, and lay out solid tips to help families grow and protect their families’ wealth. You can check out Jim’s law firm by going to his website at www.cunninghamlegal.com. You can also purchase his book, the Savvy Estate Planner, on Amazon. Here is the link. (The BoomX Show and its host, Darol Tuttle, receive no compensation or affiliate commission of any type by providing this link.) Some of the topics Darol and Jim discuss are: Differences in Medicaid laws between California, Florida, and Washington. How lawyers help their clients understand income and estate taxes specific to each state. The benefits of a Trust Protector and why every family leader should include Trust Protector provisions even if proposed trustees push back. What to look for when hiring a financial advisor to include the benefits of a true fiduciary.

Coordinating retirement accounts, e.g., an Individual Retirement Account, a 401(k), Self-employed Pension, etc., with your overall estate plan is difficult. Retirement accounts, also known as “qualified accounts”, must be handled with care. Generally, if the account owner designates his or her estate as the primary beneficiary, the non-natural person rule is triggered, and the entire account balance is treated as paid out as income. This causes the distribution of the entire account as income and is taxed at a higher or the highest tax rate possible. Other complications include the fact that retirement accounts are included in the taxable estate when the decedent lives in a state with a separate estate tax. Worst, retirement accounts do not enjoy an adjusted tax basis. In this episode, we lay out these rules and answer questions about retirement account trusts, and they can coordinate with the Spousal Protection Trust. Darol also discusses resources that are available to all Family Leaders at the BoomX Academy. Although this episode includes technical information, it is part of many episodes that put it all together.

S 3 EP 35 The Spousal Protection Trust and How to Fund It As part of Academy weekly Office Hours, Darol answers the following questions asked by a Family Leader: “what happens once you have everything protected in a trust? Is it readily accessible to the surviving spouse or the person in charge of the estate?” Darol answers this question in-depth and goes further by explaining why the Spousal Protection Trust is what most couples need, its advantages, and how to fund the trust. Authorized by federal law, this trust holds the assets of the spouse who died first for the benefit of the surviving spouse. This trust must be created by a Will. As such, a probate is necessary. There are many advantages to probate, which Darol summarizes. If implemented correctly, the assets in the trust are not subject to Medicaid spend downs, the five-year lookback period, transfer penalties, and Medicaid liens. Darol also explains the parts and parties to any trust and compares a trust to an estate, which refers to the assets of a deceased asset owner. Darol also explains why he advises that family’s avoid appointing a family member as the trustee or executor of the family trust and probate executor.

Se 2 Ep 34 Asset Protection Masterclass Part 2 BoomX Academy conducts free masterclasses each month on topics related to asset protection. You can learn more about these courses and register by going to www.boomx.biz. This episode is the second part of the most recent masterclass. Listen in and learn more about the following topics: 1) Why estate planning has little value as compared to asset protection, which has great value. 2) How safe harbors in the Law are available to protect wealth against the three threats to wealth in America today. 3) The threats to wealth are high unreimbursed medical care costs, unnecessary taxation, and financial mismanagement. 4) The benefits of a Spousal Protection Trust and how it works. 5) Why two recent legal changes wreaked havoc on inherited retirement accounts. 6) How a Retirement Account Trust gives back what these legal changes took away. True family wealth building requires more than just growing wealth. It also requires the protection of wealth. The mission of this podcast is to help you learn the methods of doing so.

When we talk about retirement accounts, we're talking about all of those accounts related to a statute called ERISA, which has to do with employment, retirement benefits, and risks authorizing more than one type of retirement account. And you all are likely familiar with it. Estate planning doesn't kick in until you're dead while asset protection reaches out and grabs safe harbors in the law that guaranteed that our wealth will not be lost to number one, unreimbursed medical expenses, long-term care costs. Number two, unnecessary taxation, and then even three, can we use asset protection trust to protect against mistakes, family mistakes financial mistakes, stock market risks.

If you implement the strategies that we teach at the BoomX Academy and talk about on the BoomX Show, the probability that you successfully finance your retirement is much higher. And therefore the probability of leaving a higher percentage of your estate to your kids, and leaving a legacy for them also increases. But the question remains, how do we pass wealth on to our kids so that it is financially responsible. And it is a money-making machine for them. And that brings harmony to the family through structures in which conflict is resolved efficiently and inexpensively. Today, we will talk about two very important provisions that you've probably never even thought about. One is the trust protector. The second is provisions inside of your estate plan for trust reporting so that all the beneficiaries know what is going on and are emotionally invested in it. These are great topics. They will bring value to your trust in the estate plan for literally, generations.

If you are like most people near or in retirement, your biggest fear in terms of financing, the quality and much-deserved retirement of your dreams is unreimbursed medical expenses. We say that we have a nest egg for that rainy day. Let's face it at a certain age, a rainy day is always medical. I receive no more questions with more anxiety than those about Medicaid. We take a deeper dive into Medicaid in this episode. I walk a BoomX Academy student through Medicaid strategies, basic Medicaid rules, how Medicaid works, and proven strategies to use Medicaid to your advantage, lawfully and ethically.

Trusts are used for personal planning and hold personal assets. Business entities such as corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies hold business assets. Many families own a rental property but fail to view the rental house as a business asset because they do not view themselves as operating a business. This is unfortunate because business entities offer many advantages, which Darol discusses in this episode. Trusts are similar to limited liability companies because the trust is able to protect assets if drafted correctly. Learn the two most important benefits of trusts that hold your family's wealth.

One of the missions of the BoomX Show is to help improve people's legal literacy, their financial literacy. Today, I will answer the questions of a young family leader who is building an estate plan, an asset protection plan, and his questions about tax. How do I give a gift to my surviving spouse in order to avoid not only estate tax, not only capital gains tax, but also protect the assets against the possibility of high unreimbursed medical expenses? Some of the questions that he asked and I answer in today's episode is, what is the credit shelter trust? How does that differ from a spousal protection trust and what is a QTIP trust? In the tax lingo there's unlimited marital deductions, but there's a trap. A mistake that you can make that can lead to significant estate tax if you live in a state with estate tax. All of these principles of course apply to federal estate tax. If you are high net worth, even if your estate is below a taxable amount of millions of dollars, you should be even more interested because we all have the potential loss of our estate, of our assets during retirement, from high unreimbursed medical expenses, which can lead to Medicaid liens and transfer penalties and spend downs. This is what we will discuss in today's episode of the BoomX show.

Do you own a timeshare? Want to know what it is, how to get rid of it, how to transfer it as part of your estate? I'll answer that question in today's episode. I will also dive deeper into trust law. We will talk about what a trust is, the job descriptions, trust, or trustee beneficiaries involved with a trust. We will also talk about the advantages and disadvantages of a trust. And I will answer a very common question, should I choose a professional trustee or should I choose a family member to be responsible for administering my family trust? As always, you can find additional content and resources at www.BoomXacademy.com. You also may request the FREE BoomX Retirement Plan provided by SC Financial Group by clicking this link.