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Now or later: When is the right time to transfer your wealth?
To gift or not to gift? It’s a deceptively complex question. The temporary doubling of the federal gift and estate tax exemption — to an inflation-adjusted $11.7 million in 2021 — is viewed by some people as a “use it or lose it” proposition. In other words, you should make gifts now to take advantage […]
Review your estate plan in light of a new presidential administration
As presumptive President-elect Joe Biden moves forward with the transition and prepares for the inauguration next month, you may be wondering how the federal estate tax may be affected. During the campaign, Biden pledged to change many of President Trump’s tax policies. In response to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), Biden has promised […]
Don’t forget about making a portability election
Portability allows a surviving spouse to apply a deceased spouse’s unused federal gift and estate tax exemption amount toward his or her own transfers during life or at death. For 2020, the exemption amount is $11.58 million, and the IRS just announced that that amount will increase to $11.7 million for 2021. To secure these […]
Fortify Your Assets Against Creditors With a Trust
You may think of trusts as estate-planning tools, i.e., vehicles for reducing taxes after your death. While trusts can certainly fill that role, they’re also useful for protecting assets, both now and later. After all, the better protected your assets are, the more you’ll have to pass on to loved ones. Creditors, former business partners, […]
Avoid pitfalls when splitting gifts with your spouse
The annual gift tax exclusion allows you to transfer up to $15,000 per beneficiary gift-tax-free for 2020, without tapping your lifetime gift and estate tax exemption. And you can double the exclusion to $30,000 per beneficiary if you elect to split the gifts with your spouse. It’s important to understand the rules surrounding gift-splitting to […]
Do You Need To Access IRA Savings?
Ordinarily, people with savings in IRA accounts who withdraw money before age 59 1/2 must pay a 10% penalty. This makes it more difficult to use those IRA savings in an emergency. These are not ordinary times. Under the new CARES Act, people who need to withdraw funds from IRA accounts due to the financial […]
