Historically in America, each citizen and permanent resident had a certain amount of assets that they could pass on to their heirs free of an estate tax. This amount is known as the federal estate tax exemption. In 2010, the government passed a law allowing for federal estate tax portability. Federal estate tax portability enabled […]
A QDOT (Qualified Domestic Trust) is a trust for the benefit of a surviving non-citizen spouse that defers the federal estate tax following the death of the first spouse. A Qualified Domestic Trust defers the federal estate tax because it qualifies for the unlimited marital deduction. A QDOT usually defers the federal estate tax until […]
In 2019, the State of New Jersey quietly updated the law with respect to the appointment of a Funeral Representative. Under the old law, in order to designate a Funeral Representative, the only way to do so was by inserting a provision in your Will. The new law allows a person to designate a Funeral […]
Effective June 13, 2021, New York will be changing its statutory financial Power of Attorney form. The new statute is a significant improvement compared to the previous statutory power of of attorney law. The new New York Power of Attorney form is more simple than its predecessor and helps to ensure that it will be […]
Congratulations to Merideth E. Ketterer, Esq. on passing the New Jersey bar exam! Merideth joined The Pollock Firm LLC full time last summer following a judicial clerkship. She had previously interned with our firm in 2018. Merideth primarily focuses on estate planning and estate administration work. In addition, she has significant experience with adoption law. […]
This is an update to the 2018 post on wrote on the Pennsylvania inheritance tax. However, before I discuss ways to minimize the PA inheritance tax, it is important to understand that the tax rate is affected by who receives money upon your death. As a refresher, Pennsylvania has an inheritance tax on most assets […]
There are rumors that the current administration intends to cut the $11.7 million estate and gift tax exemption to either $5 million or $3.5 million. While these proposals are always subject to change, it is worthwhile to consider if you should make a gift.
Trusts can be a wonderful tool for tax planning. If your death is likely to cause an estate tax or an inheritance tax, you should understand the basics of life insurance trusts. An irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) is one the most common form of trusts and is the base for many other trusts such […]
New Jersey is a very diverse state, and I have quite a few clients of Indian heritage. Accordingly, I thought I would share some advice regarding estate planning for Americans with assets in India: India does not have an estate or an inheritance tax; There is no treaty with respect to the US and India […]