It’s Not Too Late to Protect Your Estate!
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.
Excellent Social Security Strategy Link
As part of the estate planning process, we frequently need to analyze how much a person is likely to have upon death. As part of an overall wealth analysis, this invariably leads to questions such as: How much are you earning now? When are you expecting to retire? How much should you gift to your […]
What is a Disclaimer Trust?
A Disclaimer Trust is a special type of trust often created under a Will (or as a sub-trust of a revocable living trust). In order to understand Disclaimer Trusts, you first need to understand what a disclaimer is and what happens when you make a disclaimer so that you can understand the purpose and mechanics of Disclaimer Trusts. […]
Gifting to Parents to Save on Capital Gains Taxes
As I gaze outside at yet another major snowstorm here in Mercer County, NJ and contemplate how nice it would be if I were visiting my folks near my Boca Raton, Florida office, I am reminded of a tax savings idea that I heard was gaining traction amongst wealthy children whose parents are still living. […]
Receiving Gifts or an Inheritance from Relatives Overseas
If you live in the United States and receive a gift from a family member who lives overseas who is not a US citizen, you should be aware that the IRS requires the US beneficiary to file Form 3520 to report the gift. You are also required to file Form 3520 if you are receiving […]
Making a Year End Gift Before Going Over the Fiscal Cliff
Just a reminder, for the rest of this year, every US citizen and permanent resident alien has a $5,120,000 gift tax exemption. On January 1, 2013, regardless of who the president is, if Congress does nothing, then the gift tax exemption drops down to about $1,000,000. (Technically I think it is $1,000,000 indexed for inflation […]
Three Gift Ideas—ROTH Style
Idea One—Money One of the questions that frequently comes up when I speak with clients is that they want to be able to gift money to their heirs, but they do not want their offspring to waste the money. There are a number of ways to accomplish this. If you are considering gifting a significant […]
Federal Estate and Gift Taxation of Deathbed Gifts
Often times, a person who is on his or her deathbed will wish to make gifts to family members. Gifts are usually considered deathbed gifts if they are made within three years of a person’s death. However, except for certain transfers discussed below, when a gift is made is often irrelevent for federal estate tax […]
Deathbed Transfers in New Jersey
Often times, a person who is on his or her deathbed will make gifts to family members in an effort to reduce the potential taxes owed. For transfers to anyone other than a charity, making gifts in a way that minimizes taxes is actually a very complex process. In deciding whether to make a gift, […]