On January 2, 2013, the President signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (the “Act”) into law.  The Act mostly brought us back from the fiscal cliff for the federal estate and gift tax laws.  Below is a summary of some of the more important provisions of the Act and of certain additional changes in the estate and gift tax laws that are effective in 2013. Estate Tax The Act continues the estate tax exemption of $5 million, indexed for inflation (from 2011).  With the inflation … [Read more...] about Summary of Estate and Gift Tax Law Changes for 2013

Your first meeting with an estate planning attorney may seem a little daunting, especially if you’ve never consulted an attorney before. There’s no need to worry, however. This meeting is just a conversation in which your attorney will find out about you, your family, and your goals. After you’ve shared this information, your attorney will be able to recommend a range of estate planning tools, helping you tailor a plan that meets your needs. Getting to Know You At the start of your … [Read more...] about What to Expect at Your First Estate Planning Consultation

Some people still assume that, when it comes to financial and legal matters, women are not key players. However, this is entirely inaccurate. Women are most likely to be highly involved and greatly affected by estate planning. In recent generations, women have taken on a larger role in the financial arena. The number of women in the workplace has tripled in the last fifty years. Meanwhile, the real median income of women has increased by sixty-three percent, while that of men has declined by six … [Read more...] about Why Women Hold the Keys to Successful Estate Planning

Even with recent revisions to the Federal Estate System, many people are still rightfully concerned over costs when their assets pass to their heirs; hence the motivation to do estate planning. In spite of the best intentions, even the most sophisticated estate planning tools can go awry due to some simple oversights. After 30 years of working with clients, I have compiled a list of the top 10 most common pitfalls: Tax Not Funding Your Living Trust: It really does not matter how thorough the … [Read more...] about Avoiding Pitfalls in Estate Planning – Making it Work for You

Last month, we let you know that Congress let the United States go off the fiscal cliff, only to come to the rescue in the early morning hours of January 2, 2013, with the passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (“ATRA”). To review, ATRA makes most of the provisions of the previous estate tax law permanent. The amount that can be passed free of gift tax and estate tax is indexed for inflation, with the figure set at $5.25 million for 2013. The maximum gift and estate tax rate was … [Read more...] about More Reasons for Clients to Review Their Estate Plans

With the fiscal cliff looming, Congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 on January 1, 2013. This law averts a number of the automatic tax increases set to take effect at the beginning of this year. If you’re among the 77% of Americans who are affected by the end of the Payroll Tax Cut, you’ve likely noticed a slight decrease in your paycheck. The social security payroll tax returned to 6.2% this year; last year it was 4.2%. Here, in a nutshell, are some of the other provisions … [Read more...] about How the American Taxpayer Relief Act Will Affect You

Estate Planning. To many people, it sounds complicated and foreign, something only the wealthy or the elderly need to worry about. It is often not at the top of the priority list for single people or for young couples. Even parents with young children, who know they should at least have a Will, tend to think of estate planning as somehow beyond their reach. In truth, regardless of your age, your situation in life, or your level of wealth, estate planning accomplishes certain universal … [Read more...] about Five Reasons Why You Need an Estate Plan

The New Year rang in significant changes with the American Taxpayer Relief Act. The biggest change was the repeal of the sunset provision on the existing law, as well as a few other items. Regarding federal estate taxes, this new law makes almost all of the previous tax provisions, commonly known as ”TRA 2010,” permanent, with the exception of the tax rate. This means there is an estate tax exclusion of $5 million that will be adjusted for inflation. So for 2013, the exclusion is $5.25 … [Read more...] about 2013 Tax Law Update for the Advisor

In case you haven’t heard, the New Year brought a new law recently signed by the President. To avoid the country from falling off the “fiscal cliff,” the “American Taxpayer Relief Act” was approved on New Year’s Day. The approval and signing of this new law may affect the future of your estate plan and your estate taxes. Regarding federal estate taxes, this new law makes almost all of the previous tax provisions, commonly known as ”TRA 2010,” permanent, with the exception of the tax rate. This … [Read more...] about We Dodged the Fiscal Cliff – How the New Tax Bill Affects You

In case you haven’t heard, the New Year brought a new law recently signed by the President. To avoid the country from falling off the “fiscal cliff,” the “American Taxpayer Relief Act” was approved on New Year’s Day. The approval and signing of this new law may affect the future of your estate plan and your estate taxes. Regarding federal estate taxes, this new law makes almost all of the previous tax provisions, commonly known as ”TRA 2010,” permanent, with the exception of the tax rate. This … [Read more...] about We Dodged the Fiscal Cliff – How the New Tax Bill Affects You