When there is a death in the family, the issue of settling an estate comes to the front. This is quite a complicated matter and requires a lot of attention to details from the person who is carrying out the settlement. In most cases, it will be someone who was very close to the deceased [...]

Estate planning or inheritance planning is a speciaialized art, one that comes with practise and experience. To go back one step though, you might ask yourself why the need for an estate planner ?in an act of modesty I have witnessed so often that I have lost count, people always say their affairs are much [...]

As with anything, it can take time to get the feel for things. Spend lots of time handling jewelry as well as exploring on the internet. You will soon start to recognize particular designers, styles and periods, and what is quality and what is not. Antique stores, markets and garage sales are all great places [...]

With an estimated 70% of the UK population admitting to not having a Will in place, this is an extremely common scenario. Your first action should be to search through your parents?belongings to see if you can find a Will. You might also want to try contacting the Principal Probate Registry. If you find that [...]

The federal estate tax was repealed for a one-year period beginning January 1, 2010. It is slated to return in 2011 at the rules in effect before the 2001 Tax Act: 55% estate tax rate on inherited wealth over $1M ($2M for married couples, if planned properly). For 2010, the estate tax rate was 45% [...]