If you have significant wealth, you may be exposed to future estate tax burdens that must be acted on before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act reduces the estate tax exemption in 2026. Developing and implementing the right estate planning and tax strategies takes time. You may need to prepare regardless of whether the estate [...]
As we begin 2024, it is crucial to review estate planning goals and strategies that may be affected by changes in the federal estate tax exemption law. At the end of 2025, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) the estate tax exemption, which is $10 million, adjusted for inflation, may revert to the pre-2017 [...]
Some of us may enjoy games like fantasy football that allow us to assemble our own star team with the players we think will provide the most value. While fantasy football is fun to participate in, have you thought about the importance of establishing your own dream team? Just like in fantasy football, each player [...]
Taxes are not just for individuals—they can impact certain types of trusts as well. Whether a trust pays its own taxes or whether the taxes are paid by the trust’s beneficiaries or the trustmaker depends on several factors. Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts If the trust is a grantor trust (a type of trust where the [...]
Prevent Excessive Accumulation The Greenbook outlines proposals on several different topics. One proposal that could directly impact your future financial security is the proposal to prevent excessive accumulations of wealth by high-income taxpayers using tax-favored retirement accounts. Tax-favored (sometimes referred to as tax-deferred) retirement accounts, such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and 401(k)s, were approved [...]
When a person dies, there are often several tasks that need to be completed to properly wind down their affairs (their estate)—funerals and other preparations need to be planned, bank and investment accounts closed, property transferred, arrangements made for pets, tax returns filed, and final bills paid. There are several proposals in the Greenbook that [...]
Estate planning involves deciding how to plan for the management of your money, property, and well-being before your death and how to distribute your money and property after your death. A comprehensive estate plan should consider the impact that taxes can have on your estate and ensure that your estate is distributed in a tax-efficient [...]
Test your tax knowledge with this short quiz about our tax system. Did You Know? The most misused Social Security number of all time was 078-05-1120.7 In 1938, as part of a promotion to sell wallets through Woolworth and other department stores, wallet manufacturer H. Ferree Company wanted to demonstrate how a Social [...]
When people begin getting their affairs in order through the creation of an estate plan, they often face a delicate balancing act between saving on income and estate taxes, protecting their hard-earned savings from their ultimate beneficiaries’ creditors, and providing maximum benefit to their loved ones. Finding the right balance requires careful consideration of the [...]
Spouses often work together to build wealth for themselves and their children. Congress recognized this by enacting the gift and estate tax portability election in 2010, and making it permanent in 2012, providing married couples with a relatively simple way to potentially shield much more of their wealth from federal gift and estate taxation. If [...]
