Estate taxes can significantly erode the wealth that you have accumulated throughout your life. One imposition of the estate tax can play havoc with your financial legacy, but it can actually be levied over multiple generations. The maximum rate of the federal estate tax is 40 percent at the present time. The amount of the credit or exclusion in 2014 is $5.34 million. If your assets exceed this ...
Estate planning should extend to what could be called end-of-life planning. When you reach an advanced age you may not be able to make all of your own decisions or take care of your own needs. This is not the most pleasant thing to contemplate, but it is a fact of life. Most elders are going to need some type of assistance, and a high percentage of people suffer from incapacitation at some point ...
There is a $5.34 million per person federal estate tax exclusion in 2014. This is the amount that you can transfer to your heirs free of taxation. Anything that you are transferring that exceeds this amount is potentially subject to the federal estate tax. If you are married, you may have a question about the federal estate tax exclusion: what happens to your exclusion after you die? Can your ...
A high percentage of young adults are unprepared from an estate planning perspective. Many of these people are single individuals who do not have children. However, there are also parents of young children who are going through life without any estate planning documents. This is a huge mistake that is akin to a gamble. You know you are going to die someday, but you expect to live a normal life ...
Estate planning is an ongoing process. The estate plan that you initially create is going to reflect your life at that time. Things invariably change. In addition to changes within your own life, there can be relevant changes that impact the society as a whole, such as changes to tax laws. When tax laws change, your existing estate plan may no longer be appropriate. If you are not aware of the lay ...
Thanks to monumental advances in medicine and healthcare, as well as an overall better quality of life in the United States, we are living longer. Although we can all expect to live longer today than our grandparents or great-grandparents did, the cost of living longer may be high. In fact, without long-term care planning, a lifetime of savings could be wiped out in a relatively short period of ...
When you work and pay taxes you accumulate retirement credits. You can accrue a maximum of four credits per year. Once you have accumulated 40 credits, you qualify for Medicare coverage when you reach the age of 65. Medicaid is a program that provides health insurance for people with very limited financial resources. You don’t have to accumulate credits to qualify for Medicaid. Most working people ...
The process of estate planning should ideally be a broad and comprehensive one. Recording your wishes regarding the distribution of your assets is only part of what you should take into consideration. You should also address the postmortem aspect. On the other side of the coin, you should address the period of time that would logically precede your death. This can include the execution of a power ...
Everyone should have an estate plan in place. If you die without leaving behind any instructions with regard to the transfer of your property you will die intestate. Under these circumstances, the state will be forced to step in and sort things out. Intestate Succession Laws The state of New York will make an effort to find your next of kin if you die intestate. In many cases blood relatives will ...
Estat e planning is essential for adults of all ages. This is especially true for married people who have children. When you hear about tragic circumstances that befall others because of estate planning error you understand why everyone should have a good estate plan. We are all day to day as they say in the sports world. This is simply the human condition, and there is nothing anyone can do about ...