On the campaign trail, President Trump promised to repeal the estate tax aka death tax. That plan failed. But the new tax law, effective since the beginning of the year, significantly reduces the number of estates that will need to pay the tax. It doubles the exemption limit for the estate, gift and generation-skipping taxes set for 2017. Portability remains in effect, as does the marginal estate tax rate of 40 […]
Read MoreFirm News
Posts Tagged ‘estate tax exemption’
I’m curious: Did you create your estate plan before 2011? Does it include a bypass trust, aka family, credit shelter or B trust? If so, then you should be aware that changes in estate taxes may affect you and that you and your attorney should take a fresh look at your estate plan. This is especially important if your net worth is less than $6 million. A bypass trust, which […]
Read MoreThe IRS recently announced the estate and gift tax exemption for 2016; it has been set at $5.45 million for individuals and $10.9 million for couples. (The estate tax exemptions for the current tax year are $5.43 million and $10.86 million respectively. The slight rise reflects the very low inflation rate for 2015.) With a limit of $14,000 per gift, the annual gift tax exclusion will remain the same. So should […]
Read MoreLet’s say you’re having a good year financially, you’re single and without family obligations, and you decide to help out a nephew who is struggling to pay for his college education. You look at your various accounts, think about the appreciation of that piece of real estate that you bought two years ago, and you come up with a number; a check in the amount of $20,000, you think, would […]
Read MoreFor most people, estate planning serves one purpose: to have ones affairs in order before it’s too late. By providing for guardianship for their children, writing up advance directives for healthcare and creating a will or an estate plan, people can ensure that the state will have no say over who raises their children, that their wishes with regards to end-of-life medical procedures are known and that their estate will […]
Read MoreYou and your spouse hold the title to a nice-sized home in a well-to-do L.A. suburb; maybe you even rent out a second, smaller house and have a couple of insurance policies, or you own some shares here and some bonds there. Bottom line, you live comfortably but you’re not part of the top one percent. Should your family worry about the federal estate tax? The answer may surprise you, […]
Read More