How not to become a victim. If your net worth is high enough to be subject to the evil estate tax, chances are you worked your tail off all or most of your adult life to accumulate your wealth… But draw your last breath and the estate tax monster wants to devour about half your… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Estate Planning
Advanced Charitable Giving using Life Insurance
As we get into the holiday season people start to feel charitably inclined, and yes you could just drop some coins with the unenthusiastic guy with a bell, give a $20 spot at church, or write a check…but what if there was a bigger bang for your proverbial buck? Over the next couple weeks I will… Continue Reading
The House Passes Estate Tax Bill to Freeze Current Exemptions and Rates
In a vote closer than I expected the house passed, an Estate Tax Bill! For all intents and purposes the bill freezes the Federal Estate Tax (Remember State Estate tax is different) so that every U.S. Citizen has a $3,500,000 exemption and anything above that amount is effectively taxed at 45%. The Bill passed 225 to… Continue Reading
Gift Laws and Taxes Made Simple
Most people just assume they can give away whatever they want in any situation; that is just not true. Ignoring gifting laws and taxes can cost you and your family a lot of money! When gifting large sums of money there are federal tax implications one should keep in mind. Gift Tax Introduction What is a… Continue Reading
Don’t Accidently Forgo Your Charitable Intent at Death
Even those with strong charitable intents (religious or otherwise), actually fail to provide for the charities of their choice at death. In essence their charitable intent is often ignored, and it is usually by mistake! I was reading a Last Will and Testament of a high net worth client the other day, and came across… Continue Reading
What is Intestacy? Don’t Let the State Determine Where your Assets Go!
Regardless of whether you know it or not you have a Will – the Will is called Intestate Distribution and is determined by the State Legislature. When one dies without a Will it is often said he or she died intestate, and their Will enters Intestacy. I am sure different parts of the country refer… Continue Reading
