One of the things that you should keep in mind when you are planning for the future is that everything is connected. Estate planning is by its very nature connected to retirement planning because your legacy is going to be impacted by your expenses and the overall financial decisions that you make after you retire. With this in mind, you have to get a handle on the expenses that you anticipate, evaluate your projected income, and create an intelligent, holistic plan for the future. To this end … [Read more...] about Federal Cost Cutting Can Impact Your Plan For Aging
Estate Tax Parameters Set To Change In 2013
Time marches on, and as it does changes invariably take place and a lot of them are going to impact your estate plan. Some of these twists and turns are specific to you and your own life. Divorce and remarriage are prime examples, and these are very common occurrences during our current era. But there are other events outside of your personal control can be relevant to your ongoing estate planning efforts. One of those is changes to the estate tax. As of this writing the maximum rate of the … [Read more...] about Estate Tax Parameters Set To Change In 2013
Gift Now!
Under current law, the present is a wonderful time for the wealthy to gift. Many wealthy people are taking advantage of current legal conditions to pass along significant wealth now as opposed to waiting until death. However, there is an important caveat: you should only gift assets that you’re completely sure you will never need. If in doubt, do not gift. For those with excess wealth, current law provides excellent incentives for gifting now. For example, in 2011 and 2012, you can gift … [Read more...] about Gift Now!
Protecting Life Insurance from Federal Estate Tax
No one wants to lose half of the value of their life insurance to the federal estate tax. But that is exactly what can happen if you don’t plan carefully. You’re in luck because the federal estate tax is often a voluntary tax. You volunteer to pay by not planning. We suggest that you plan and avoid the federal estate tax. Unified Credit – Each individual can pass a certain amount during his lifetime or at death without paying federal estate tax. This amount is called the unified … [Read more...] about Protecting Life Insurance from Federal Estate Tax
Estate Taxes: A Quick Summary of the New Estate Tax Law
Federal estate taxes are transfer taxes due when the assets of a deceased person pass to another person or entity. If you’re like most people, you've heard estate taxes referred to as the death tax and you know that there’s a new estate tax law, but you don’t know what the new tax law means to you. Will you have to pay any estate taxes? The new estate tax provisions of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Act became law on December 17, 2010. Everyone is affected by the new estate tax law, … [Read more...] about Estate Taxes: A Quick Summary of the New Estate Tax Law
