by Ethan Okura | Mar 6, 2015 | Estate Planning, Trusts and Wills
Many Husbands and Wives own title to their home as “Tenants by the Entirety” or as “Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship.” Often they’ve been told that it’s a cheap and easy way to avoid probate and are shocked to...
by Ethan Okura | Mar 7, 2014 | Estate Planning, Powers of Attorney and Health Care Directives, Trusts and Wills
“Thou know’st ’tis common; all that lives must die, Passing through nature to eternity.” -William Shakespeare (Hamlet) Death. This is a difficult topic to think about. Most of us spend most of our lives enjoying work, hobbies,...
by Ethan Okura | Jan 5, 2014 | Asset Protection, Estate Planning, Trusts and Wills
Last month I wrote about the pitfalls of giving your home away without protecting yourself. We came to the conclusion that if you think you have 5 years of good health when you can still live at home before you might need nursing home care, it can be a good idea to...
by Ethan Okura | Dec 11, 2013 | Asset Protection, Estate Planning, Trusts and Wills
We all know that the possibility of incurring disastrous Nursing Home costs is the biggest threat to most people’s estates today. Now that we have an exemption of $5.25 million from estate taxes, only the wealthiest 0.14% of Americans will pay this tax. In...
by michelle | Sep 9, 2013 | Estate Planning, Estate Taxes and Gift Taxes, Trusts and Wills
TAX IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS By Ethan R. Okura Back in June, I wrote an article on how Obamacare affects the income taxes that trusts pay. It’s a very complicated subject (taxes always seem to be, don’t they?) and my quick summary of how it works may have left you with...
by michelle | Jul 12, 2013 | Estate Planning, Trusts and Wills
HOW TO TITLE REAL ESTATE: LLC, Revocable Trust, Personal Name? By Ethan R. Okura For many people—especially in Hawaii—real estate is the most valuable investment they own and the largest part of their estate. There is so much advice and mis-information floating...