Planning for incapacity is a crucial part of estate planning. It's vitally important to consider the types of end of life decisions that can impact all of the hard work and preparation you've done on your financial portfolio.

In this video, I'll cover some of the major areas you need to be aware of to plan for incapacity, such as:

-- health care directive definition
-- durable power of attorney for healthcare
-- what is do not resuscitate order

Health insurance premiums, especially in the wake of the Affordable Care Act, have risen dramatically and are one of the greatest expenses that most individuals pay. Although the cost of health insurance is allowed as part of an individual’s medical deductions when itemizing deductions, only the amount of total medical expenses that exceeds 7.5% of the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income (AGI) is deductible. The 7.5% limitation is increased to 10% for years after 2020.

The purpose of this article is twofold: first, to remind you what insurance can be included as a medical deduction; and second, to inform you of an alternate means of deducting health insurance for certain self-employed individuals—a means that avoids the AGI limitation and allows for deduction without itemizing.

Let’s start by looking at what is treated as deductible health insurance. It includes the premiums you pay for coverage for yourself, your dependents, and your spouse, if applicable, for...