Planning Tools Business Owner Articles Starting a business Advantages and disadvantages of self-employment Choosing an entity for your business Funding a business Hiring your first employee Qualifying for the home office deduction Record keeping for your own business Starting or buying a business Tax planning for the self-employed Estate Planning Articles Life insurance Life insurance and estate planning Life insurance and terminal illness Life insurance: do you need it? Planning ahead for life insurance proceeds The ins and outs of policy ownership Medicaid planning Medicaid and nursing home care Medicaid and the principal residence Medicaid planning basics Decision Tools Business planning Business life insurance needs Business succession planning alternatives Choosing a business entity How cross purchase plans work How entity purchase plans work Number of policies needed with a cross purchase plan Planning for succession of a business interest Charitable giving The best property to give to charity Probate The probate process: 3 to 9 months after death The probate process: 9 to 12 months after death The probate process: initial tasks Types of post-mortem elections Trusts Advantages of trusts How a grantor retained income trust (GRIT) works How an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) works How an irrevocable trust protects assets Tax Planning Articles General tax planning Tax planning for the self-employed Taxation of investments Year-end tax planning Decision Tools General tax planning Accelerating deductions/postponing Income Federal individual income tax fundamentals