Tag Archive: Estate Taxes

You Have Absolutely No Patriotic Duty To Pay High Taxes

I don’t want to pay higher taxes then what the law mandates.  In fact a large part of my day is spent helping people plan for the Federal and State Estate Tax and I love my job.  I am not sure why I get so excited helping people plan to lower their tax bill.  If…

Why I am Not A Big Proponent of Revocable Living Trusts

As I have mentioned before that in addition to my day job, and this blog I operate a very small law practice. In both my law practice and day job Revocable Living Trusts come up often, however, I am not a particularly big proponent of using them for one specific reason discussed below. What is…

What is Portability in Estate Planning?

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There were a lot of tax law changes (as well as a lot of things that were kept the exact same) when President Obama signed into law the Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation of Act of 2011, but there was one change that simply put, shocked me.  It was the brand new idea that…

What is the Estate Tax Trap High Net Worth Individuals Fall into?

Irv Blackman is an experienced CPA and lawyer who specializes in estate planning, business succession and asset protection.. He is the founding partner of Blackman & Kallick, the largest independent CPA firm in Illinois. He is the founding Chairman of the Board of New Century Bank, Chicago. Irv has authored 8 books, and his articles…

Gift Laws and Taxes Made Simple

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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…

Where are Estate Taxes Going?

DeathTaxes

The question I hear the most when I am teaching classes are, where do you think the Estate Taxes are going?  I always respond, they aren’t disappearing. Period.   The current administration (along with the last one) is running through money like it was beer at a keg party!  So is it likely that we are going…