As of January 1, 2015, the exemptions for federal Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Transfer taxes have been increased to $5,430,000. The annual exclusion from gift taxes remains at $14,000.
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2015 Changes to Estate Tax, Gift Tax, and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Laws
Posted in Legal News and Views
What is “Portability?”
“Portability” is a significant development in federal estate tax law. In essence, if a spouse dies and has not used all of his or her federal estate tax exclusion amount, the unused portion can be rolled over and used in…
Post-Death IRA Distribution Rules
When an IRA participant dies, the post-death distribution rules for their IRA are dependent on many factors: Whether the participant died before or after he or she was required to begin receiving distributions from their IRA. Whether the participant had designated…
IRA Beneficiary Designations
It is important to pass your IRA assets onto your heirs with appropriate IRA beneficiary designation to avoid unnecessary income taxes. When you open a traditional IRA you are required to complete and sign a beneficiary designation form naming the…
Digital Assets
Does your family know how and where to access sentimental family treasures such as digitally scanned family photos? How about your online bank, credit card, and investment accounts, investment. How about your social media accounts and your other “digital assets“?…
Update Beneficiary Designations After Divorce
Very seldom does the United States Supreme Court decide a case involving state probate law. However, on June 3, 2013, the Court once again decided that federal law trumps state law when it comes to certain estate matters. This decision…
Tagged with: IRA beneficiary designtions, u[date beneficiary designations
Posted in Legal News and Views
Posted in Legal News and Views
Choosing a Trustee — Benefits of a Professional Trustee
Choosing a Trustee. A trustee is responsible for managing an individual’s financial affairs upon his or her incapacity or death. Many people choose family members or relatives to administer their trust assets upon the occurrence of these events. They do…