Unless you spend your winters in Aspen and your summers in the Hamptons, you probably don’t have to worry about paying federal estate taxes on an inheritance. In 2021, the federal estate tax doesn’t kick in unless an estate exceeds $11.7 million.
While we are alive, we can clearly make our own decisions. Unfortunately, one day you may find yourself in a situation where you cannot make your own decisions. Such situations occur most often in accidents, illnesses (physical or mental) and simple aging situations.
Taxpayers should, of course, carefully consider whether to engage in a lifetime gifting strategy, which has other considerations beyond just estate taxes (such as the tradeoff with the ‘step‑up’ in basis, and non-tax family related considerations).
What if parents have wills and their contingent beneficiaries are their two adult children. If one of the adult children dies before the parents, who gets that contingent beneficiary’s share?
At such an emotional time, more paperwork is probably the last thing you want on your to-do list. However, taking a few key steps is critical to your financial future.
If you have a parent over the age of, say, 65, thoughts about their future may have started to creep into your mind. However, because end-of-life planning can be emotional and overwhelming, it’s tempting to put these conversations off—and even more pleasing to avoid them altogether.
Over 50% of our adult population (120 million adults) neither have nor realize the significance of having an up-to-date estate plan to protect themselves and their family’s assets. Mountain Times’ recent article entitled “Do you need an estate plan?” explains that estate and gift planning is a process that can protect you and your family.…
