Estate Planning March 15

At Ashlar’s Lunch And Learn

Ashlar of Newtown opens the 2005 Lunch and Learn program with the workshop “Why Estate Planning is Important in Times of Change” on Tuesday, March 15, from noon to 1:30 pm, in the Lodge room at Lockwood Lodge.

Many individuals are uncertain about whether they need to have an estate plan after the enactment of the 2001 Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act tax bill. It has been reported the estate tax was repealed when, in fact, estate taxes are being gradually eased back through 2009, and will be repealed for only one year, 2010. In 2011, the repeal will expire and the estate tax will return. Assets passing to heirs in 2010 will potentially be subject to capital gains taxes when they are sold.

The estate and gift tax have been enacted and repealed four times in the country’s history.

Everyone has an estate plan whether they realize it or not. There are those individuals who have formally put their plan on paper, and those who have not will have government agencies distributing their assets.

This workshop will cover everything from simple and living wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, living trusts, and estate taxes.

Matthew T. Cuomo and Albert B. Brodbeck of Prudential Financial will be the speakers. Mr Cuomo grew up in Newtown and is an active participant in the Newtown Chamber of Commerce, a volunteer firefighter, and a notary public who has been working in the financial industry for more than five years. Mr Brodbeck has been a specialist in the field of estate planning for more than 20 years and a member of Prudential’s Million Dollar Roundtable for 27 years.

For more information on this and future workshops offered through Ashlar of Newtown’s Learning Center, contact Laura Vhay at 364-3127.