Monthly Tips
May 2023
TIP 1 Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day is coming up on the 14th this year. This day officially became a day to celebrate in 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation naming the second Sunday of May as a day for “public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.” It’s harder to mark your calendars with a holiday that changes dates each year, yet according to Hallmark 85% of adult men and women celebrate it each year.
The most popular things to do are to send cards, call on the phone, or have a family dinner at a restaurant. We express our heartfelt gratitude to the mothers of our nation and cherish the impact they continue to make in our lives.
Happy Mother’s Day from all of us at Garden State Trust Company.
https://gstrustco.com/about-us/message-from-our-founder/
TIP 2 Seniors Are Playing Video Games (Maybe You Should Too)
When approaching retirement, one of the looming questions is always: “what am I going to do with all that time?” It’s a lot of unstructured time, and after the first few years of bucket list items, there’s usually a lot of time left. That’s why we recommend things that would help create hobbies as retirement gifts, and trying to get more involved with family as caregivers for the young should opportunity present itself.
There is a new hobby for older adults on the rise that used to be associated mostly with younger people though: video games. Read about our thoughts on some of the surprising trends reported by the AARP and things to watch out for in our newest blogpost: Older Adults Are Playing Video Games (Maybe You Should Too).
https://gstrustco.com/solutions-services/boomers-beyond/
TIP 3 IRS Refunds for 2019
Some people wait until the last minute to do their taxes, and usually that’s because they must pay extra money rather than get any earlier overpayments returned to them. However, that’s not always the case, and for tax year 2019 the IRS still has $1.5 billion in unreturned payments to hand out to those that haven’t filed their taxes yet.
The final deadline for those filings is quickly approaching, as for any who do not file within three years (July 17th in this case) their refunds become property of the U.S. Treasury.
There could be various legitimate reasons taxes weren’t filed on time. One that could catch first-time executors off-guard is that an income tax filing is still needed for the final partial year of life, so it needs to be filed on behalf of the deceased. Even death doesn’t stop taxes (or tax refunds in some cases), so that filing is needed to dot the Is and cross the Ts.
https://gstrustco.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/gstc-2023-tax-facts-brochure.pdf
TIP 4 Estate Transfer Through a Trust
Intestacy laws and probate courts aren’t meant to be difficult, or ornery. They are devised to help people with the difficult process of estate transfer based on what is most likely to work for the most people. They happen to be difficult because they deal with an especially difficult time in people’s lives (grieving) and the inherent uncertainty regarding the wishes of someone who is no longer around to consult. Creating a will helps guide that process and is especially helpful in any case when one’s wishes deviate from “what works for most people”.
However – there are other options too. When has “what works for most people” been the solution “that is best for me”? Not very often. A trust is the personalized solution for estate transfer that more and more families of moderate- and high-net worth are finding helpful. Creating a trust during one’s life can help keep the finances of the family private and can help ensure a smoother and quicker transfer of assets to prevent anything from needing to be sold at fire-sale prices. It can add tax benefits, depending on the goals of the deceased, and special conditions to create incentives for improving the lives of the beneficiaries in particular ways.
If you think you might want a personalized solution for your family, instead of having them have to try to fit into the mold of everyone else, let us know. Our trust officers at Garden State Trust Company specialize in just that.
https://gstrustco.com/trusts-estates/revocable-living-trusts/