Estate Planning

ESTATE PLANNING INSIGHTS By Ethan R. Okura In last month’s column, I focused on the history of Medicaid and discussed some of the difficulties that arise when dealing with Medicaid’s many laws, rules and policies. I also told you about some of the problems that people have encountered when applying for Medicaid on their own....

ESTATE PLANNING INSIGHTS By Ethan R. Okura In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Act into law, which included two programs we often hear about in the news: Medicaid (Title XIX) and Medicare (Title XVIII). Medicaid is a joint federal-state program that pays the medical costs of those with limited resources. It....

ESTATE PLANNING INSIGHTS By Ethan R. Okura Last month, the Hawai‘i Legislature passed a bill that gives terminally ill patients the option of taking prescription medication that will cause them to pass away peacefully in their sleep. On April 5, Gov. David Ige signed House Bill 2739, the “Our Choice, Our Care Act,” signed into....

ESTATE PLANNING INSIGHTS By Ethan R. Okura There is a term in Japanese culture — oyakökö — which means to love and care for your parents, although it is really a sentiment that is embraced universally, regardless of race. At our office, we oftentimes have clients who raised their families here in Hawai‘i and then....

ESTATE PLANNING INSIGHTS By Ethan R. Okura In last November’s column, I wrote about the then-proposed federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. There were quite a few changes in the proposed legislation, which left many people in a state of confusion as the bill went through several revisions before finally being passed into law. Many....

ESTATE PLANNING INSIGHTS By Ethan R. Okura Happy New Year! The following is the 2018 update of important numbers used in estate planning and Medicaid planning in Hawai‘i. How much money and property can a person have at the time of death without paying estate taxes? At the end of 2017, Congress passed a new....

ESTATE PLANNING INSIGHTS By Ethan R. Okura and Carroll Dortch From the American tradition of a big Thanksgiving feast to the various religious celebrations at this time of year, gifts and sharing with others are what make this holiday season so special. Unfortunately, many people are not aware that there can be unintended negative consequences....

ESTATE PLANNING INSIGHTS By Ethan R. Okura and Carroll Dortch On Nov. 2, the proposed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was released to the public. The Republican-sponsored bill introduced by the U.S. House of Representatives is intended to simplify America’s tax code. It offers many changes, which we will review in this column.....

ESTATE PLANNING INSIGHTS By Ethan R. Okura There have been many political changes in the federal government over the past year. With a Republican president in office and a Republican majority in the Congress, some people are concerned about possibly losing the expanded health care benefits that were provided for in the Affordable Care Act,....

ESTATE PLANNING INSIGHTS By Ethan R. Okura One of the questions most frequently asked of us is: “Will I be responsible to pay for my mother’s (or father’s) nursing home expenses?” This can be a scary thought for a working woman who cannot provide physical care for her aging parent and who is looking at....