Estate Planning

Ethan R. Okura Hawai‘i Herald Columnist Happy New Year! The start of a new year often brings changes in state and federal laws that could affect your estate and Medicaid planning. The following is the 2020 update of important numbers to be aware of as you go about your planning. • How much money and property....

Ethan R. Okura Hawai‘i Herald Columnist ’Tis the season to be jolly and it truly is the most wonderful time of the year . . . except for when it’s not. Most of you, like me, are probably busy preparing for the holidays. Estate planning is probably the last thing on your mind. What’s on....

Ethan R. Okura Hawai‘i Herald Columnist In last month’s column, I discussed the financial impacts of delaying your application for Social Security, applying early and applying right on schedule at your full retirement age. I also noted that even if you decide to delay applying to receive Social Security retirement income benefits, most people should....

Ethan R. Okura Hawai‘i Herald Columnist If you are about to retire, I have some good news — and some not so good news — for you. The good news is that as a result of advances in science and health care treatments, today’s generation of retirees is living longer than ever before. At age....

Ethan R. Okura Hawai‘i Herald Columnist This is the third column in my series on international estate planning. I started with the basics of international estate planning in July. Then, last month, I discussed some of the gift and estate tax issues associated with transferring assets to a non-citizen spouse. In this column, I’ll cover....

Ethan R. Okura Hawai‘i Herald Columnist In last month’s column, I introduced you to the basics of international estate planning. I explained the Internal Revenue Service’s definitions of a U.S. citizen, a non-resident alien and a resident alien. The definition of a resident alien is different for income tax purposes and for gift and estate....

Ethan R. Okura Hawai‘i Herald Columnist The world today is increasingly interconnected. Global travel is commonplace these days, as is moving to another country for work or other opportunities. International marriages are also more commonplace. So, what do these facts have to do with estate planning? See more articles by Ethan by visiting https://okuralaw.com/blog/

Ethan R. Okura Hawai‘i Herald Columnist Sometimes you can do everything right, but still have everything go horribly wrong. Sometimes you do nothing at all and still have everything go very wrong. In the United States, you are innocent until proven guilty, except when it comes to fraudulent student loans that are taken out in....

ESTATE PLANNING INSIGHTS By Ethan R. Okura Many of my past columns have focused on how to structure your estate plan to protect your home. I’ve discussed protecting your primary residence and other real property from probate through the use of revocable and irrevocable trusts, through joint ownership or tenants by the entirety ownership and....

ESTATE PLANNING INSIGHTS By Ethan R. Okura Back in December of 2009, my father, Sanford K. Okura, wrote an excellent article titled “Tenants by the Entirety.” It explained the pros and cons of holding property as “tenants by the entirety” as opposed to holding them in revocable trust(s). At the time, tenants by the entirety....