Estate Planning Blog - Gunderson Denton & Peterson, PC

Is There an Income Tax Time Bomb Lurking in Your Estate Plan? As the federal estate tax exemption has ballooned from $1.5 million ten years ago to $5.43 million today, the need for estate tax planning has drastically decreased (click…

Estate Planning for Young Families Many young families assume that they have no need for estate planning, let alone the assistance of a estate planning attorney. They assume that estate planning is only for older or wealthier families and that…

Estate Planning Practice News Update: Brent Gunderson now licensed in both AZ and NV Brent Gunderson, Gunderson Denton & Peterson’s founding partner, is now licensed to practice in both Arizona and Nevada. Brent, who has been practicing business and estate…

The Shocking Truth About Asset Protection Planning The Shocking Truth About Asset Protection Planning The goals of asset protection planning are to provide an incentive for settling a claim, improve the client’s bargaining position, offer options when a claim is…

Three Estate Planning Mistakes Farmers and Ranchers Make that Make Them Losing Their Cash and How to Avoid Them Farming or ranching is more than a means of livelihood – it is about preserving a legacy and unique way of…

Arizona Is One Of Only A Handful Of States That Offer A “Transfer On Death” Designation For Automobiles How Transfer On Death Designations Work For Cars In Arizona A “transfer on death” designation, or Beneficiary Designation, is a way to…

Does Your Family Member Have Capacity To Create A Will? Does Your Family Member Have Capacity To Create A Will? When someone has been diagnosed with a debilitating condition, a common question arises regarding whether it is too late to…

How Clients Can Easily Integrate Asset Protection Trusts into Their Estate Plans How Clients Can Easily Integrate Asset Protection Trusts into Their Estate Plans An asset protection trust is a type of irrevocable trust that keeps assets from being exposed…

5 Things to Consider for Flexible Trusts to Update Your Estate Plans 5 Things to Consider for Flexible Trusts to Update Your Estate Plans A GDP estate planning attorney can help you build flexibility into your trust. Phoenix, AZ Creating…

I Created A Will With A Form I Found On The Internet.  Do I Need To Worry About Its Validity?  I Created A Will With A Form I Found On The Internet. Do I Need To Worry About Its Validity?…

Five Ways to Make Trusts More Flexible Five Ways to Make Trusts More Flexible Drafting trust agreements is challenging, but flexibility can address changes. Phoenix, AZ Trusts that continue for the benefit of a surviving spouse’s lifetime and then for…

And Then There Was One: When Removal Clauses Backfire And Then There Was One: When Removal Clauses Backfire Removal clauses on trusts and legal documentation are important for some situations, but Brent Gunderson shows how they can also backfire. Mesa,…

Why You Should Avoid DIY Estate Planning Why You Should Avoid DIY Estate Planning Estate Planning Attorney Brent Gunderson explains why DIY estate documents can cause problems in the future. Phoenix, Arizona With so much information and tools available on…

How to Create a Successful, Multigenerational Wealth Transfer Plan Studies have shown that 70% of family wealth is lost by the end of the second generation and 90% by the end of the third. Don’t let your loved ones become…

How to Become a Multigenerational, Purpose-Driven Advisor Studies have shown that more than 90% of family wealth is lost by the end of the third generation. To help clients avoid this, advisors must become adept at bridging the disconnect among…

Trust-Focused Strategies for Reducing Income You or Your Trustee Can Use Now With the end of the year approaching fast, now is the time to consider ways to reduce your 2014 income tax bill. In this issue you will learn:…

Lessons from the Estate of Tom Clancy: Careful Drafting Matters Lessons from the Estate of Tom Clancy: Careful Drafting Matters Tom Clancy’s will has resulted in a court battle due to ambiguities, learn how to carefully draft your estate plan…

The 4 Estate Planning Documents Everyone Needs There are many different documents that can go into an estate plan. However, not everyone will require a complex estate plan that uses many of those documents. Of course the criminal record is…

Asset Protection Planning for the Modern Client Only the very wealthy and those in high-risk professions need asset protection planning, right? That’s a myth. In reality, we all need asset protection. Why? Because we all can be sued and lose…

What Legacy for Your Children Many celebrity children are in the news because of their “socialite” status and spending their inheritance money on lavish parties, drugs and expensive apparel. Some even for ending up at drug and alcohol rehab. For…

How to Protect Inherited IRAs After the Clark v. Rameker Decision In a landmark, unanimous 9-0 decision handed down on June 12, 2014, the United States Supreme Court held that inherited IRAs are not “retirement funds” within the meaning of…

How Important is it to be Clear When Drafting Your Last Wishes? The Casey Kasem Example. Unfortunately, America’s Top 40 host, Casey Kasem passed away, June 15, 2014 after a long battle with Lewy Body Disease (form of dementia). His…

The Most Important Parts of Estate Planning Can’t Get Legislated Away There is always a media swarm around the death of a celebrity, especially when they’re young, active in their careers, beloved, and tragic. The death of actor Philip Seymour…

Three Top Reasons to Update Your Estate Plan in 2014 Make this your top New Year’s resolution — update your estate plan this year. If you didn’t update your estate plan last year when the federal tax laws changed, 2014…

The Importance of Revising an Estate Plan After Divorce According to a divorce lawyer from a Wisconsin divorce law firm, Going through a divorce is a very strenuous time in life for the divorcing couple. When the unfortunate prospect of…

Charitable Giving After ATRA With the passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) on January 2, 2013, changes were made that will impact charitable gifts and charitable gift planning; mostly the change is an increase in taxes.  …

Does The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 Affect You? The House and Senate narrowly prevented the country from going over the financial cliff when they passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA) of 2012 on January 1, 2013, which…

Why You Should Review (and Update) Your Estate Plan It is often stated that in this life the only thing we can be sure of is change. With all the recent change that have occurred in the tax laws and…

Estate Planning for Blended Families and Stepchildren In most cases, blended families live together in perfect harmony. But what happens when one spouse dies? What becomes of the deceased spouse’s biological children in regards to inheritance? With a blended family,…

Estate Planning–Securing the Future for Yourself and Loved Ones Unfortunately, many people think of “estate planning” as a morbid and distasteful exercise, best ignored as long as possible.  Understandably, focusing on one’s mortality and the government’s attempt to tax what…

Estate Planning Law at Gunderson, Denton & Peterson, P.C. Brent Gunderson Discusses The Estate Planning Services at GDP Video Transcription Brent Gunderson, Estate Planning Lawyer at Gunderson, Denton & Peterson: “My primary practice is working with individuals and families to…

Estate Planning Moves to Make Before the End of 2012 (because of the pending changes in estate and gift tax laws) As the year 2012 comes to a close, there are several changes regarding estate and gift tax laws that…

The Estate’s Responsibilities to Creditors and the Basics of Transferring the Estate Dealing with and planning for death is never an easy thing.  However, it is important to plan ahead and understand the basics of transferring the estate.  When considering…

Estate Planning: What are the risks of creating your own plan? With the help of online tools and books, thousands of people bypass lawyers to create their own wills, powers of attorney and other estate planning documents. The pros and…