January 2019 - The Law Office of Tawnya Gilreath

January 27, 2019May 23, 2019 by Tawnya Gilreath

High Deductible Health Plan? How Your Health Savings Account (HSA) Works with Your Estate Plan

If you’re enrolled in a qualified high-deductible health plan (HDHP), you must consider how your health savings account (HSA) fits into your estate plan—especially to make sure that any hard-earned money left in your HSA when you die goes where you want it.
An HSA functions as a bank account plus investment account fusion while you’re alive but gets treated more like a retirement account at your death—and this dichotomy makes strategic estate planning that considers all tax ramifications crucial. Read More

January 20, 2019May 23, 2019 by Tawnya Gilreath

Caution: Creditors Now Have Easy Access to Inherited IRAs

Most people don’t know the law has changed: inherited retirement accounts no longer have asset protection, meaning they can be seized by strangers. Fortunately, retirement account protection still exists by using Standalone Retirement Trusts. Read More

January 13, 2019May 23, 2019 by Tawnya Gilreath

Organizing for Tax (and Estate Planning) Season

It’s the start of a new year, which means tax season—and this year’s April IRS filing deadline—is just around the corner. Soon you’ll be receiving tax forms such as your W-2 or 1099s, and you’ll start thinking about the life events that could affect your taxes in various ways.

This flurry of tax prep activity is the perfect opportunity to get your estate plan in order, too, and kill two birds with the proverbial stone.

Why? Because as you run down your list of “tax prep” questions, you will find that your answers could also impact your estate plan. Read More

January 6, 2019May 23, 2019 by Tawnya Gilreath

5 Reasons to Protect Your Retirement Accounts Now

A special trust called a “Standalone Retirement Trust” (SRT) can protect inherited assets from your beneficiaries’ creditors. Spouses can use SRT to shield one or the other from creditors, SRT will provide oversight and instruction on how much beneficiaries receive and when, SRT can protect beneficiaries from creditors, SRT can avoid disqualification on need-based government assistance programs and you can also avoid disinheritance of children after remarriage. Read More

Month: January 2019