The estate tax exclusion is the amount of money and property that can be transferred before the estate tax can be applied. If you are married to an American citizen, you can transfer unlimited assets to your spouse estate tax-free, but transfers to others could potentially be taxed. We have a $5.43 million exclusion in place for the rest of 2015. This comes about due to a series of inflation adjustments that have been added annually since a $5 million benchmark was established in 2011. … [Read more...] about 2016 Estate Tax Exclusion Adjustment Announced
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A New Estate Planning Concern: Digital Assets
Your estate plan should be reviewed an, if needed, every three or so years. Often, however, people put off updating their estate plan until something spurs them to do so. If this describes you, chances are your current estate plan does not address your digital assets. Understanding why you need to include digital assets in your estate plan should prompt you to finally review and revise your current estate plan, or create one if you have yet to do so. In the last two decades, the average … [Read more...] about A New Estate Planning Concern: Digital Assets
Can a Surviving Spouse Use Two Estate Tax Exclusions?
The federal estate tax exclusion is the amount that can be transferred before the estate tax would become applicable. However, if you are married to an American citizen, you do not have to use any of your exclusion to transfer assets tax-free to your spouse. There is an unlimited marital deduction that allows for unlimited transfers between citizen spouses. For the remainder of the 2015 calendar year, the exact amount of the estate tax exclusion is $5.43 million, and the maximum rate of the … [Read more...] about Can a Surviving Spouse Use Two Estate Tax Exclusions?
Top Three Estate Planning Misconceptions
Far too many people are not properly prepared from an estate planning perspective, and the inaction often stems from some widely embraced misconceptions. In this blog post we will look at three of them so that you can understand the facts and take the appropriate actions to protect your family. Estate Planning Is Only Relevant to Senior Citizens One of the most damaging misconceptions out there is the idea that estate planning is only important for people who have reached an advanced age. … [Read more...] about Top Three Estate Planning Misconceptions
Tips When Inheriting IRAs
We regularly get inquiries from our clients who are recipients of an inheritance. An ever increasing asset that is being inherited is a retirement account such as an IRA. Special considerations must be attended to when inheriting an IRA because of their special characteristics. In this blog, we'll discuss some of these considerations. Don’t automatically request to cash in the IRA. The income tax repercussions could be great and there are better options. If you opt for a lump sum … [Read more...] about Tips When Inheriting IRAs
What Does Funding a Living Trust Mean?
A living trust is an estate planning vehicle that is widely utilized by people who want to facilitate time efficient asset transfers to their loved ones. It is a good alternative to a last will on this level, because a will would be admitted to the time-consuming process of probate. Assets that have been conveyed into a living trust could be distributed to the beneficiaries outside of probate. When you fund a living trust, you convey personally held assets into the trust. To do this, you change … [Read more...] about What Does Funding a Living Trust Mean?
Bad News for Social Security Recipients
When you are living on a fixed income, there are challenges, because the cost of living is typically going to rise year-by-year. To account for this, the Social Security Administration can apply annual cost-of-living adjustments if the consumer price index justifies an increase. Increases are quite modest when they are applied. As a case in point, there was a cost-of-living adjustment for 2015, and it was just 1.7 percent. That doesn't sound like it would help much, but things are even worse … [Read more...] about Bad News for Social Security Recipients
Do You Have to Report an Inheritance as Taxable Income?
You may be concerned about taxes that your loved ones may have to pay when they receive their inheritances. We will examine some taxes that can come into play, but first, we should look at regular income taxes. There is usually very little good news to pass along with regard to taxation, but this case is an exception. In fact, an inheritance is not considered to be taxable income, so your loved ones would not have to report their inheritances when they file their returns. Plus, appreciated … [Read more...] about Do You Have to Report an Inheritance as Taxable Income?
Should I Apply for Social Security at the Age of 62?
As an American taxpayer, you pay FICA or self-employment taxes. When you pay these taxes, you accumulate retirement credits. You can earn up to four credits per year, and most working people do, because the earning requirements are quite modest. Once you have at least 40 credits, you will qualify for Social Security and Medicare when you get older. If you're not yet receiving Social Security, your age of eligibility will depend upon your birth year. People who were born between 1943 and 1954 … [Read more...] about Should I Apply for Social Security at the Age of 62?
Will Medi-Cal Count Assets in My Living Trust?
When you are devising your estate plan, you may come to the conclusion that a revocable living trust would be a good choice as an asset transfer vehicle. Indeed, a living trust can be useful for a wide range of people, and you do not have to be extraordinarily wealthy to create a living trust. One of the benefits that you would gain through the creation of a living trust is the avoidance of probate. This is the legal process of estate administration, and it is time-consuming and potentially … [Read more...] about Will Medi-Cal Count Assets in My Living Trust?
