The federal estate tax is carrying a 40% maximum rate at the present time, and the lifetime exclusion is $5.25 million. After the 11th hour passing of the piece of legislation that is now called the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 these parameters were supposed to be permanent. It should be noted that the estate tax exclusion is adjusted for inflation on an annual basis, so it will not be exactly the same year-by-year. Many observers who have an interest in estate planning would …
IRS Handling Higher Volume of Gift Tax Forms
The Forbes website is running an article that is interesting to people in the field of estate planning. It turns out that the Internal Revenue Service is expected to process a much higher volume of gift tax forms this year. If you give taxable or potentially taxable gifts during a given year you must file IRS Form 709. This is true even if you don't owe any tax yet because your overall giving falls below the lifetime unified gift/estate tax exclusion of $5.25 million. Those who need more …
As a Surviving Spouse Where Do You Turn?
The cold reality is that life does not stand still even when devastating events take place. When you lose your spouse you are obviously going to be experiencing something that is painful beyond words. At the same time, there are some practical matters that have to be attended to more or less right away. This is something to keep in mind when you are originally planning your estate as a married couple. Just expressing your wishes in writing is one thing, but you have to also consider the …
Don’t Be Among Those Who Make These Mistakes
Estate planning can seem simple on the surface to many people. When you are old and grey you somehow express your final wishes in writing and that's the long and short of it. In fact, this is a mistaken approach that can cause you and your family members some serious difficulties in the future. We would like to look at some of the common mistakes that people make in an effort to raise awareness. DIY Estate Planning These days people often try to find quick fixes on the Internet. There …
Take Steps to Prevent Dissonant Family Dynamic
There are those who would say that their money is exclusively their own business, but when it comes to estate planning this is not entirely true. You are in fact going to be giving out inheritances to others, so in a way it is their business to some extent. This doesn't mean that you are not the exclusive decision maker; however, your decisions are indeed going to impact your children and other people that may be on your inheritance list. With this in mind you may want to consider …
Closure Finally Arrives in Hemsley Estate Matter
The matter of the Sherman Hemsley estate has been playing itself out for months, and we have been passing along updates as they have become available. We are happy to be able to report that we now have closure in this case. The probate court in El Paso, Texas has decided that the last will that was executed by Hemsley leaving everything to his longtime close friend and confidant Flora Enchinton is indeed valid. The difficulties were brought about by the contentions of a Philadelphia …
Medicaid & Long-Term Care: Download Our Report
When you look into the subject you may be quite surprised to find out just how expensive it is to spend some time in a nursing home or assisted living community. Costs are rising year-by-year, so the current state of affairs is one thing but what you may be looking at in 20 or 30 years is another. Presently a single year residing in a nursing home in the state of New York averages well in excess of $100,000. There are those who take this with a grain of salt because they expect to be …
Taxable Value of Home Can Be Reduced
In 2013 the estate tax exclusion is $5.25 million. You have to understand the fact that this figure includes the value of your home, so right off the bat you are going to be left with considerably less to work with if you are a homeowner. Many people would be able to stay within the estate tax exclusion amount if they could somehow reduce the taxable value of their homes. There is in fact a solution for these individuals in the form of qualified personal residence trusts. When you fund …
Married Couples Should Understand Portability
The word "portable" is defined as "Able to be easily carried or moved." In estate planning the term has been borrowed to describe transferring the estate tax exclusion that was afforded to a deceased individual to his or her spouse. Until 2011 the estate tax was not portable, and some critics felt as though this was not justifiable. They make a good point because in most cases both the husband and the wife contributed personally to the accumulation of their shared wealth. Since two …
Trust Terms: You Have Options
As a person who is making preparations for the future you probably have various different unique individuals on your inheritance list. Invariably they all have their own respective strengths and weaknesses. Those who are in a position to leave behind large sums of money to family members have a lot to take into consideration. Not everyone is a good money manager, and there are those who have personal problems. There also may be younger people on your inheritance list who simply have not …
Assisted Living Benefit for Wartime Vets
Assisted living is very costly, and many senior citizens simply cannot pay for it out-of-pocket. Medicaid can be a solution for some people, and veterans may be able to tap into a very valuable military benefit. The Veterans Aid and Attendance special pension provides single veterans with as much as $1732 per month to help with assisted living expenses. A surviving spouse of an eligible veteran may receive up to $1113 per month, and a couple could qualify for $2054 each month. To meet the …
Alzheimer’s Disease: Know the Facts
Being comprehensively prepared for the future involves planning ahead for the possibility of incapacitation. We all know there are numerous different causes of incapacity, but the most significant one for senior citizens is Alzheimer's disease. When you understand the facts about Alzheimer's disease it becomes impossible to keep your head in the sand assuming that you will never go through a period of incapacitation. The New York Times has done an excellent job researching the subject and …
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