Celebrity deaths have a way of occupying the attention of the media. In addition, of course, to his immense talents, Prince’s recent death is noteworthy for his failure to do any estate planning. What lessons can us non-celebrities learn from his choice?
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Senator Bernie Sanders, a presidential candidate, recently proposed a bill in Congress that he titled “The Responsible Estate Tax Act.” The Act proposes to raise the estate tax and broaden its coverage. The proposal immediately was endorsed by well-known economists such as Robert Reich and Thomas Piketty. Surprisingly, for an unabashed progressive like Senator Sanders, the Act proposes only a modest increase in the estate tax. Here is what the bill would do:
Continue Reading...So, it appears that we did not go off the first “Fiscal Cliff” and some momentary “permanence” has been given to the Estate Tax Law. In the just passed “American Taxpayer Relief of 2012,” Congress kept in place the 2010 estate tax law with its Five Million Dollar ($5,000,000.00) personal exemption, adjusted annually for inflation. The only thing the lawmakers actually changed is the gift and estate tax rate, which has gone up to a top rate of forty percent (40%) from a previous maximum of thirty-five percent (35%). The exemption amount in 2012 was 5.12 million dollars, per person. The 2013 exemption amount is reported to be 5.22 million dollars per person. This amount of money either can be given away during lifetime or after death; it also can be given or devised to grandchildren without occurring any additional generation skipping tax.
Continue Reading...A Personal Representative of an estate (“PR”) is personally liable for paying a decedent’s outstanding tax bills. This would include income taxes, gift taxes or estate taxes that may be owed by the decedent at the date of his or her death. For this reason, it is important that a Personal Representative engage a CPA, in addition to a probate attorney, for assistance in resolving potential tax issues.
Continue Reading...No, we are not referring to the Mayan calendar-end of the world hysteria! Instead, we are referring to the end of the “Tax Relief Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization Job Creation Act”, which dies on December 31, 2012. That law provides unprecedented gift tax, estate tax, and generation-skipping transfer tax exemption amounts of $5,000,000 per person. (Indexed for inflation so that it is $5,120,000 this year.) If Congress fails to act to extend this law, then these $5,000,000 exemption amounts will all be reduced to $1,000,000 by automatic operation of law on January 1, 2013. Will Congress act? Who knows?
Continue Reading...Many people are confused about the rules which apply to giving gifts. There is good reason to be confused. First, there are two different gift tax exclusion figures, which change frequently. Then, there is the question of basis. This newsletter will attempt to provide a basic understanding of the gift tax rules.
Continue Reading...In our last newsletter, we outlined some of the highlights of the temporary extension of the estate tax that will be effective from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2012. What will happen next? Is the estate tax likely to disappear or even remain “as is” with lower rates and a more generous personal exemption than at most any time in history? Well, let’s take a look at the history of this tax.
Continue Reading...We begin the New Year with temporary estate tax relief. The key word is “temporary.” Congress, at the last minute, finally has acted to modify the estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes. However, this modification of the estate, gift, and generation skipping transfer taxes will last only for two years, unless Congress passes a more permanent law. If Congress does nothing, on January 1, 2013, the estate tax exemption will be reduced to $1,000,000.00 and the estate tax rate will increase to 55%. Essentially, the last Congress has “punted” forward the sunset provisions of EGTRRA (the Economic Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act) for two years. No one can predict what will happen then. This newsletter will highlight the key elements of this temporary estate tax relief.
Continue Reading...As a Jacksonville, Florida Estate Planning Attorney, I work regularly with life insurance agents as part of the estate planning team. Life insurance is helpful in many estate planning situations. Some examples are:
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