Some people continue to ask why they need an estate plan, especially since Congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act, which made the $5 million federal estate tax exemption permanent. The question is often, “If my estate is under $5 million, why do I need an estate plan or need to be concerned with any […]
We have written about the benefits of utilizing revocable trusts for incapacity planning, probate avoidance and out-of-state real estate. However, we often get the question from couples, “Why do we need two trusts? Why can’t we just have one joint trust?” To be honest, in some instances, a joint revocable trust might be the appropriate option […]
Congress passed The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 on January 1, 2013. Among its many provisions are the following pertaining to estate taxes:
The Minnesota Department of Revenue (“DOR”) is preparing a report that analyzes Minnesota’s current estate tax laws. The report will provide the Legislature with options to consider for changes to or elimination of the estate tax.
Almost every week I receive an email from a tax or financial advisor about how my clients should take advantage of the current gift tax exemption. The exemption of $5.12 million allows an individual to give away just over five million dollars before paying any federal gift tax (side note: MN does not have a […]
Almost every week I receive an email from a tax or financial advisor about how my clients should take advantage of the current gift tax exemption. The exemption of $5.12 million allows an individual to give away just over five million dollars before paying any federal gift tax (side note: MN does not have a […]
Although most of us would consider our estate planning attorney to be superhuman, the fact of the matter is that sometimes they are unable to perform their duties. In a recent case, the district court found that the physical and mental ailments of an estate planning attorney did not provide reasonable cause for the estate […]
Everyone should have an estate plan. Estate planning attorneys say that a lot, and we mean it! But this is even more critical for farming families. There are many unique issues and problems that play an important role when planning for families with farms, among them: estate taxes, complicated probates, business succession, emotional ties and […]
I recently wrote about portability, specifically, what it is and how to elect it. This post takes it one step further, discussing how portability and gifting interact.
2010 Tax Relief Act The 2010 Tax Relief Act (a.k.a. The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010) provided us with a $5 million federal estate tax exemption and a federal estate tax rate of 35%. It also introduced a feature called “portability” (see previous Epilawg articles summarizing the 2010 Tax […]
With the recent deaths of Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder, and Al Davis, owner of the Oakland Raiders, we are reminded how important it is to properly plan for the transfer of assets upon death. While the average American does not have the wealth that Mr. Jobs had (estimated at $7 billion1) or Mr. Davis (estimated […]