Building flexibility into your estate plan using various strategies is generally advised. The reason is that life circumstances change over time, specifically evolving tax laws and family situations. One technique that provides flexibility is to provide your trustee with the ability to decant a trust. Define “decanting” One definition of decanting is to pour wine […]Continue reading

No matter how much effort you’ve invested in crafting an estate plan, your will, trusts and other official documents may not be enough. Consider also drafting a “road map.” Essentially, it’s an informal letter that guides your family in executing your plan according to your wishes. What to Address Among other things, your road map […]Continue reading

There are several reasons why you may want to move a trust to a more favorable jurisdiction. For instance, to avoid or reduce state income tax on the trust’s accumulated ordinary income or capital gains. However, before doing so, it’s critical to understand the risks. Revocable Trust vs. Irrevocable Trust Many people retire to states […]Continue reading

If you want to share some of your wealth with your grandchildren or great grandchildren — or if your estate plan is likely to benefit these generations — it’s critical to consider and plan for the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax. Designed to ensure that wealth is taxed at each generational level, the GST tax is […]Continue reading

Are you concerned that some of your beneficiaries might squander their inheritances or simply aren’t equipped to handle the financial responsibilities that come with large sums of money? You don’t have to hold on to your assets until the day you die with the hope that your heirs will change their ways by that time. […]Continue reading

Once upon a time, life insurance played a much larger part in an estate plan than it does now. Why? Families would use life insurance payouts to pay estate taxes. But with the federal gift and estate tax exemption at $12.92 million for 2023, far fewer families currently are affected by estate tax. However, life […]Continue reading

If you made gifts last year you may be wondering if you need to file a gift tax return. The short answer: There are many situations when it’s necessary (or desirable) to file Form 709 — “United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return” — even if you’re not liable for any gift tax. Let’s […]Continue reading

Even though it may not be top of mind when you’re developing or revising your estate plan, it’s important to consider how bequeathing assets to your family might affect them. Why? Because when your heirs receive their inheritance, it becomes part of their own taxable estates. Giving a loved one permission to create an inheritor’s […]Continue reading

Generally speaking, owning property jointly benefits an estate plan. Indeed, joint ownership offers several advantages for surviving family members. However, there are exceptions and it’s not the solution for all estate planning problems. 2 Types of Joint Ownership for Spouses As the name implies, joint ownership requires interests in property by more than one party. […]Continue reading

A revocable trust — sometimes known as a “living trust” — can provide significant benefits. They include the ability to avoid probate of the assets the trust holds and facilitating management of your assets in the event you become incapacitated. To obtain these benefits, however, you must fund the trust — that is, transfer title […]Continue reading