The U.S. Department of the Treasury has released its General Explanations of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2025 Revenue Proposals. Commonly referred to as the Greenbook, this document lays out tax ...
By now, you have likely heard about the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act) and the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (part of the ...
Every trust has at least one grantor, also known as the trustmaker, i.e., the person who creates the trust. So, it can be confusing when terms like grantor trust and nongrantor trust are used. It is helpful to understand that neither of these terms refers to the existence or nonexistence of the trustmaker (the person who created the trust) but are terms that have to do with the trust’s income tax (typically not estate or gift tax) liability.
As we all know, life happens. There is really nothing we can do about it. However, some of the most common life events can have a dramatic effect on your estate plan. If you think your estate plan is like a slow cooker and you can set it and forget it, you and your loved ones may be in for a stomach-turning surprise when it is time to put your plan into action. Let us take a look at some common life changes and the impact they may have on your already established estate plan.
Meat Loaf, whose real name was Michael Lee Aday, passed away earlier this year at the age of seventy-four. The singer behind 1977’s Bat Out of Hell—one of the best-selling albums of all time—experienced ups and downs befitting his larger-than-life persona. He hit bottom with his 1983 bankruptcy but rode a 1990s career rebirth to newfound financial success. The musician, actor, and producer’s net worth was estimated to be $40 million at the time of his death in January 2022.
It is better to give than to receive. But if you give a gift above a certain amount, you might end up owing money to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). ...
A number of married couples think about their accounts and property as “yours, mine, and ours,” especially if either or both spouses have gotten or will be getting remarried, married ...
Americans have enjoyed historically high estate tax exemption rates for most of the last twenty years. Such high exemption amounts have kept many of them from needing to seek out more advanced estate planning strategies to avoid estate taxes, which have been as high as 60 percent during those same years. However, it is uncertain what the estate tax exemption amounts and rates will be in the future. The current federal administration may decide to reduce the estate tax exemption amounts in an effort to raise revenue to fund many of the high-cost government programs being implemented today. Therefore, for individuals and families whose wealth is significant enough that their estates could be subject to estate taxes, it can be important to be aware of some of the tried-and-true strategies for reducing their taxable estate’s value to avoid paying more tax at death than absolutely necessary. One strategy is the qualified personal residence trust (QPRT).
“Basis” is a term used frequently in tax law. But for many, the term is unfamiliar and intimidating—perhaps something they feel is better left to a certified public accountant to worry about. Nevertheless, a basic understanding of the concept can be very helpful for understanding important estate planning strategies used by your attorney and financial or tax advisors.
You may have signed a financial power of attorney (POA) that allows one or more people to act on your behalf if and when you become unable to act for yourself. However, a financial POA is not valid in certain situations. Knowing when your POA will not be recognized is an often-overlooked aspect of estate planning. To ensure that you have anticipated every contingency, you should discuss with your estate planning attorney the POA exceptions noted in this article.