Seminar: Employee Data "Going Paperless from Hire to Retire" - March 4 & 10 in St Cloud

Wonder if an HRIS Management Software would benefit your organization?  Or perhaps you have thought about conducting a software search, but don't know what to look for or where to start?  Join us for an in-depth look at how HRIS Management Software can automate your Human Resource Department and get back to the business of managing people and not paper.  To learn more about attending this event, click here.

Minimize postmortem disputes over your estate plan

The goal of estate planning is to gain the peace of mind that comes with knowing a person’s loved ones will be provided for after his or her death. Few things can disturb that peace of mind as quickly as the fear that someone will contest the plan. This article examines several planning tips to minimize postmortem disputes.
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Giving a Gift?  Beware of Traps

This year, the inflation-adjusted annual gift tax exclusion is $13,000, up from $12,000 in 2008. Annual exclusion gifts can be a powerful estate planning tool, and they’re doubly effective if a married couple elects to “split” the gift. This article details gift-splitting tax traps to be aware of.
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Maximizing Your Estate, An Option for Married Couples

For many affluent couples, a credit shelter trust (also called a bypass trust) is a key component of their estate plans. This trust type allows spouses to leave as much of their assets as possible to each other while preserving each of their $3.5 million estate tax exemptions. In recent years, changes in the exemption amount and uncertainty over the future of the estate tax have made it more difficult to design a credit shelter trust. One potential solution to this problem is “just-enough” funding. This article discusses the benefits of using “just-enough” funding for a credit shelter trust.
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Estate Planning Pitfall — You don’t have a succession plan for your estate plan

Some of the most important estate planning decisions a person can make involve naming people to act on his or her behalf after death or, in the event of incapacity, during life. In addition, he or she should appoint one, and preferably two, successors for each of the representatives. If he or she doesn’t, and one of them dies or is otherwise unable to serve, a court will make the decisions (usually with some input from the family). This short article lists common estate planning documents that should include successor designations.
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KDV to Expand Expertise, Client Base and Geographic Presence

Minneapolis, Minnesota, February 2009:  Kern, DeWenter, Viere, Ltd. (KDV) and Davich, Wilson, Morrow & Associates (DWM) announce the signing of a letter of intent for DWM to join KDV.  The merger broadens KDV’s portfolio of expertise, services and clients as it expands its presence in the Twin Cities.  Based in Bloomington, DWM specializes in accounting and consulting services in the health care, professional service and manufacturing industries.  The merger is expected to be completed by July 1, 2009, with the existing DWM office to remain in the south Twin Cities metro area.

For more information, click here.

Upcoming Tax Deadlines