There are those who are working with the idea that the estate tax only applies to the wealthy, and it would be fair to say that whether or not this is true depends upon your definition of wealthy. The estate tax exclusion in 2011 is going be $1 million, so any portion of your total estate that exceeds this amount is subject to a tax with a top rate of 55%. No, that is not a typo, the maximum rate of estate taxation in 2011 will be 55% Many would say you don't have to have been born with a … [Read more...] about Respond To The Estate Tax With A QPRT
Assuage Your Concerns With An Incentive Trust
You may find that there are seemingly countless details to concern yourself with when you are planning your estate as one thing keeps leading to another. When you get the numbers in line and position your assets optimally, you then have to consider the human element. After all, your heirs are all unique individuals and providing each of them with a proper inheritance may take more that simply placing a number next to their names. Leaving someone a large inheritance can have a number of … [Read more...] about Assuage Your Concerns With An Incentive Trust
Estate Planning For Pet Owners
We live lives wrought with uncertainty, but there is one thing that you can usually count on: if you leave someone an inheritance, they will gratefully accept it. Your estate is comprised of the things that you have accumulated throughout your life that are of value to you, and when you bequeath these valuables to those that you care about they generally consider it to be an honor. However, there are a very limited number of things that you own that may not be universally embraced upon your … [Read more...] about Estate Planning For Pet Owners
State Your Wishes With Three Wills
There is so much to consider when you start to get serious about planning your estate it can be difficult to know exactly where to start. Taking the time to state your wishes through these three different types of wills is a good way to have all or most of your bases covered in one fell swoop. Ethical Will When you think about estate planning the distribution of your assets is probably going to be the first thing that comes to mind, but there is more to your legacy than that. The life lessons … [Read more...] about State Your Wishes With Three Wills
Nursing Home Costs Raise Concerns
Planning your estate naturally extends forward into your retirement years and the period leading up to your death. To be able to plan intelligently you have to proceed with some idea of how long you can logically expect to live. The fact is that medical science has steadily been making advances, and this has had a positive impact on longevity. In addition, we live in the information age so people are universally more aware of what to do and what not to do if they want to stay healthy as they are … [Read more...] about Nursing Home Costs Raise Concerns
Make Your Life Story Part Of Your Estate
Preparing for the inevitable realities of aging is at the core of estate planning, and for the most part it is seen as a pragmatic series of preparations. Some of them are financial, including retirement planning, addressing contingencies that may arise during your twilight years, and the ultimate distribution of your assets after your death. There are also potential health care issues that must be addressed, but these too are practical matters. So once you have all of these things taken care … [Read more...] about Make Your Life Story Part Of Your Estate
Tax-Free Gift Giving
In a very real sense, when you give someone a gift, you may actually enjoy the occasion more than the recipient. There is no better feeling than watching someone react to a gift that you know they will really appreciate from the bottom of their heart. This is something that is very useful to take into consideration when you are planning your estate. Depending on your means, opportunities are often missed when people devote all of their preparations to the distribution of their assets after they … [Read more...] about Tax-Free Gift Giving
The Case For Permanent Estate Tax Repeal
As the new year approaches the return of the estate tax is a matter of great interest in the realm of estate planning. It was repealed for 2010 after having been levied every year since it was enacted in 1916, but this was just a one year repeal. When you look around, you notice that life was gone on as usual without the tax, so it would seem as though we can get by without it just fine. Indeed, many people would support the suggestion that we simply do away with the estate tax … [Read more...] about The Case For Permanent Estate Tax Repeal
Conservatorship and Guardianship
The point of comprehensive, holistic estate planning is to examine all of the realities that go along with the inevitable process of aging and prepare yourself and your family for any possible eventuality. Some of these things are not pleasant and there is no candy coating them, but they need to be addressed all the same. Nobody is especially anxious to think about a time in the future when they may become unable to make their own decisions, but we have all known or heard about people in this … [Read more...] about Conservatorship and Guardianship
Beware of Estate Planning Procrastination
There are some responsibilities that we readily recognize as things that we must address in an ongoing manner, and some of them involve possibilities rather than hard realities. For example, we all make sure that we have sufficient insurance coverage to protect our homes, cars, and businesses, though we may never have to make a claim. In addition, we recognize the fact that the policies need to be updated when we get new things or when other aspects of our lives change. Nobody procrastinates … [Read more...] about Beware of Estate Planning Procrastination
