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On December 20, 2019, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019 was signed into law. It went into effect on January 1, 2020. While its purpose is to prevent older Americans from outliving their assets, it has a profound impact on estate plans that include retirement accounts. If you have already established...

The April 15 tax filing deadline looms. For Arizona taxpayers, that means having the power to control how their tax dollars are used. Arizona taxpayers can now direct their tax dollars to schools and charities they support and believe in. That is due to the state’s tax credit program. The program lets taxpayers make contributions...

Keeping business and personal expenses separate is one way to help yourself if the government decides to audit you. Other tips on how to deal with an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax audit include saving documents, minimizing paper storage and hiring a bookkeeper. These steps were outlined in an article posted on abovethelaw.com, which features...

You might have made plans for retirement. Maybe you have been saving money in a 401(k) or an IRA? That’s a responsible move, but do you have a will? Have you thought about who will receive your assets after you pass away? If you haven’t thought about it or simply put it off for another...

The lesson for unmarried couples living together: protect your finances and emotional health by taking time to establish estate-planning documents. Doing this paperwork now could save your loved one trouble later, including the loss of a home, if you die first. Estate planning tips for unmarried couples were outlined by nextavenue, a nonprofit web site that...

The purpose of probate court is to determine how the assets and property of a deceased person will be distributed. Probate court is absolutely required in Arizona after a person passes away. If there is no will or trust established, however, the court will assign someone to make those decisions. This can be a painstaking...

Most people know what estate planning is and have a vague idea of how it works. At some point, we will all pass away or become unable to care for ourselves. The idea often gets placed on the back-burner - as people concern themselves primarily with their day-to-day jobs, finances, families, and social life. Below...

Has the thought of creating a trust ever crossed your mind? If you're like many people, the answer is probably no. Even those who do estate planning establish a last will and often wait until they are ill or have reached their golden years. Despite the common misconception that trusts are for the elderly or wealthy,...

You've owned your own home for many years without a co-owner, yet you're unsure will happen with your property when you pass away. You have a beneficiary in mind, but you'd rather avoid the expensive and lengthy process of going through the probate court system. In this case, you have other options - particularly transferring...

Tax audits are rare. About 0.5 percent of all tax returns received IRS scrutiny in 2016, according to irs.gov. But that's still over 1 million returns. While audits don't happen often, many taxpayers wonder if they've done anything that might trigger a letter or visit from an IRS agent. The IRS conducts audits to determine...