Category Archives: Estate Planning

?The future of a family home should be addressed before an illness or accident forces the issue?Except in the case of the superrich, the apartment is most likely the parents? major asset, and their children understandably want its future resolved while their parents are still in good shape mentally and physically. They want to avoid unnecessary estate taxes, capital gains taxes and other financial penalties should the parents die or move to smaller, easier-to-manage quarters.?

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In its annual Wealth and Worth study, released this week, U.S. Trust said 45 percent of the high-net-worth people it polled had not organized passwords and account information for their digital lives in a place where heirs or an executor would find them. (By contrast, the bank said that 87 percent knew the location of important documents and most had a will.)

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??People are calling ?family meetings? nowadays not only to deal with their parents? health issues but increasingly to sort out their finances as well.?

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?Life insurance and annuities are supposed to accomplish straightforward goals:? life insurance provides for your family if you die unexpectedly and annuities guarantee a steady stream of income in retirement.? But right now, both are being promoted for their tax benefits.?

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Even taxpayers who are exempt from the federal tax on estates under the American Taxpayer Relief Act would be wise to study how the law affects their estate planning.

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You thought your estate plans were finally set? Not so fast.? It turns out the “permanent” $5 million estate-tax exemption enacted earlier this year could change after all, sending families back to the drawing board to sort out their strategy.

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?Taxpayers who gave substantial assets to family members last year could be in for a nasty surprise this tax season: potential errors on federal gift-tax returns that could result in donors owing taxes on gifts they thought were tax-free.?

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Despite the benefits and prestige that come with working at a top U.S. law firm, small and mid-sized firms, as well as boutique offices, offer trusts and estates lawyers a much more attractive proposition.

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“The venerable law firm’s move to get out of the estate-planning business comes as the legal industry continues to emphasize more profitable practices.”

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“For many of the wealthy, the American Taxpayer Relief Act, passed this week by Congress, is aptly named.? For estate and gift taxes in particular, all but the richest of the rich will probably be able to protect their holdings from taxes, now that Congress has permanently set the estate and gift tax exemptions at $5 million (a level that will rise with inflation).”

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