Estate Planning

Ethan R. Okura Hawai‘i Herald Columnist More Nitty-Gritty Details This month, I will explain in more detail the potential advantages and disadvantages of generation-skipping trusts, expanding on this topic from my column on p. 14 of the...

Ethan R. Okura Hawai‘i Herald Columnist Also Known as a Legacy or Dynasty Trust The term “generation-skipping trust” is often misunderstood in estate planning. A GST does not mean that the inheritance skips your children and only...

Ethan R. Okura Hawai‘i Herald Columnist For most couples who do not have trusts, if one dies, everything goes to the spouse. If a married couple has more than $5.49 million in assets (including life-insurance death...

Ethan R. Okura Hawai‘i Herald Columnist Although a Revocable Living Trust is beneficial for avoiding probate (and for married couples, an A-B Trust can reduce or eliminate estate taxes), it cannot protect your home from nursing-home...

Ethan R. Okura Hawai‘i Herald Columnist Last month, we shared information on funding your Revocable Living Trust. This month, we decided to go back to the very beginning and explain what a Revocable Trust is and...

Ethan R. Okura Hawai‘i Herald Columnist If you have an existing estate plan, you are probably already familiar with the benefits of creating a Revocable Living Trust. One of the biggest advantages of a Revocable Living...

Ethan R. Okura Hawai‘i Herald Columnist Nearly six months have passed since Hawai‘i’s leadership imposed the original work-at-home/stay-at-home order back in March to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. The effort to make ends meet...

Ethan R. Okura Hawai‘i Herald Columnist In Shakespeare’s play, “Hamlet,” when the forlorn, young prince is debating whether to end his own life, he asks the question: “To be or not to be?” The question should...

Ethan R. Okura Hawai‘i Herald Columnist “Do I need a trust?” This is the question that I hear most when people find out that I am an estate-planning attorney. The question is usually prompted by a...

Ethan R. Okura Hawai‘i Herald Columnist During the past two and a half months of lockdown, I’ve had some time to walk around the neighborhood or take breaks from working at home to ponder life, and I’ve come to some interesting realizations. Here in Hawai‘i we’ve been fortunate because COVID-19 has not killed many people....