by Sanford Okura | Feb 22, 2012 | Estate Planning
WHO INHERITS WHEN SOMEONE DIES? When someone dies without a will, we say that the person died “intestate.” The law of intestacy explains who will inherit the property of a person who dies without a will. Each state has its own law of intestacy. I will...
by Sanford Okura | Jan 20, 2012 | Estate Planning, Estate Taxes and Gift Taxes, Medicaid and Nursing Home Costs
Here is a 2012 update on important numbers used in Estate Planning and Medicaid Planning in Hawaii. How much money and property can a person have at death without paying estate taxes? Under a temporary federal law, $5,000,000 is tax free this year. From January 1,...
by Sanford Okura | Dec 19, 2011 | Estate Planning
REVERSE MORTGAGE People often ask me for advice about reverse mortgages. They hear that with a reverse mortgage the bank pays you instead of your paying the bank, and that sounds good to them. Here is the advice I give them: if you want your children or other loved...
by Sanford Okura | Nov 18, 2011 | Estate Planning
PROBATE & TAXES vs. NURSING HOME COSTS Many senior citizens are worried about probate and death taxes. For most people, the fear of probate and estate taxes is misplaced. The greatest threat to our hard earned money is not probate or taxes, but nursing...
by Sanford Okura | Oct 31, 2011 | Estate Planning
NEW LAW: TRANSFER ON DEATH DEED Hawaii has a new law which allows real estate to go to a beneficiary when the owner dies, without having to go to court for probate. This new procedure requires a new kind of deed, called a “Transfer on Death Deed.” Governor...
