Helping People Plan Estates for Over 30 Years
Reality: This is not always the case. To make sure your spouse can indeed make important medical decisions on your behalf, you should sign a durable power of attorney and a medical advance directive.
Continue Reading…There are several reasons why you should update your existing trust or perhaps your entire estate plan. While estate planning documents do not necessarily have a shelf life, they may not fulfill your goals when your circumstances change. Of course, having estate planning documents that are up-to-date is critical, but how do you know when you should make changes?
Continue Reading…Unfortunately, sometimes a death in the family can bring out the worst in people. Indeed, family resentments sometimes simmer during a time of grieving -particularly when money and assets from the deceased’s estate are involved. If you are a beneficiary under a loved one’s estate plan, you may be under the assumption that those assets will be distributed according to his or her wishes. Inheritance theft, however, is an underreported problem that can cost families dearly. Moreover, the theft can be perpetrated by someone who was highly trusted by the decedent -the executor, who is the person typically chosen by the decedent to manage the estate upon his or her death or incapacity. Thankfully, you have the ability to deter a thief from stealing your inheritance and the inheritance of other beneficiaries of the estate.
Continue Reading…Whether you own a little or a lot, the last thing you want to do to your loved ones is leave a bureaucratic mess after you pass away or become incapacitated. Aside from mourning your passing or a significant deterioration in your health, this will cause the family additional stress. Heirs may forfeit life insurance payouts, tax deduction advantages, or miss accounts they did not know existed. This is why it is key to have your estate plan in place before life circumstances get the best of you.
Continue Reading…While saying the words “I love you” is indeed romantic, you should know that putting together a well-crafted estate plan is a concrete way to care for your family in the long run. This is because doing so will help prevent your surviving family members from scrambling to figure out what to do next while they are still in the grieving process.
Below are several reasons why estate planning is really a final act of love for those you leave behind.
Continue Reading…The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act doubled the federal gift and estate tax exclusion amount, which had previously been $5 million (adjusted each year for inflation) per individual. The exclusion amount for 2020, including the adjustment for inflation, is $11.58 million. However, the increase in the exclusion amount is temporary and, unless Congress extends it, will expire on December 31, 2025. This has caused concern that if taxpayers made gifts of the additional $5 million (adjusted for inflation) between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2025, the benefit could be “clawed back” in the calculation of their estate taxes if they died on or after January 1, 2026—i.e., after the expiration of the increased exclusion amount. This concern arose because gift and estate taxes are calculated together, as a unified calculation. The determination of whether any tax is due is made by applying a credit based on the basic exclusion amount. The credit is first applied against the gift tax, and to the extent that any credit remains at death, it is applied against the estate tax. Some worried that if the exclusion amount at death is lower than the amount of the exclusion when lifetime gifts were made, this could create a difficult situation in which tax could be due at death, but no money would be left to pay it, because it had been given away during the taxpayer’s lifetime.
Continue Reading…The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act doubled the gift and estate tax exclusion amount—i.e., the amount that can either be excluded from your estate when determining if your estate will owe any taxes when you pass away or the amount you can gift to individuals during your lifetime without owing any taxes—which had previously been $5 million (adjusted each year for inflation) per individual. The exclusion amount for 2020, including the adjustment for inflation, is $11.58 million. However, the increase in the exclusion amount is temporary and, unless Congress extends it, will expire on December 31, 2025. This has caused concern that if taxpayers made gifts of the additional $5 million (adjusted for inflation) between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2025, the benefit could be “clawed back” in the calculation of their estate taxes if they died on or after January 1, 2026—i.e., after the expiration of the increased exclusion amount. This concern arose because gift and estate taxes are calculated together, as a unified calculation. The determination of whether any tax is due is made by applying a credit based on the basic exclusion amount. The credit is first applied against the gift tax, and to the extent that any credit remains at death, it is applied against the estate tax. Some worried that if the exclusion amount at death is lower than the amount of the exclusion when lifetime gifts were made, this could create a difficult situation in which tax could be due at death, but no money would be left to pay it, because it had been given away during the taxpayer’s lifetime.
Continue Reading…You probably know that the practice of medicine is a profession fraught with the risk of liability. It’s not just medical malpractice claims either (although those are certainly scary enough). It’s the entire scope of risk from being in business, including employment-related issues, careless business partners and employees, and contractual obligations, as well as personal liabilities. Unfortunately, in our litigious society, these liability risks are not unique to physicians, although physicians are a frequent target.
Below are three liability planning tips for physicians to protect their hard-earned money.
Continue Reading…In its simplest terms, a trust is a legal arrangement in which a trustee holds and manages assets for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries. The trustee owns the assets, enters into contracts on behalf of the trust, manages the trust’s investments as its trustee, and follows the trust’s instructions on making distributions. A trustee can be one person, multiple people, or a company.
Continue Reading…If you or someone you know has received an inheritance, it is important for you to understand how to manage your basis “step up.” A “step up” in basis is the adjustment of the value of an appreciated asset -for tax purposes -upon inheritance.
An executor who has to file a federal estate tax return must also file Form 8971 with the IRS. The purpose of Form 8971 is to report the final value of the specific property received by a beneficiary, the recipient of that property, and other information. An executor must also provide a Schedule A to each beneficiary who has acquired -or will acquire -property from the decedent and the final value of that property. Although this form is only required when an estate tax return is needed, the basis step up occurs for everyone receiving an inheritance.
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