Democrats have promised to return the estate taxes to their historic norms. Before Congress passes bills lowering the estate tax exemption amount, taxpayers should act. Here are ideas about how to reduce possible future estate taxes.
Democrats have promised to return the estate taxes to their historic norms. Before Congress passes bills lowering the estate tax exemption amount, taxpayers should act. Here are ideas about how to reduce possible future estate taxes.
If you want to preserve as much wealth as possible for your children, but you leave property to your spouse outright, there’s no guarantee your objective will be met. This may be a concern if your spouse has poor money management skills or if you two don’t see eye to eye on how assets should be distributed to your children. It could also be a concern if you have children from a previous relationship; you may want to provide for a current spouse while he or she is alive, but have your assets go to your children upon your spouse’s.
The most effective estate planning strategies often involve the use of irrevocable trusts. But what if you’re uncomfortable placing your assets beyond your control? What happens if your financial fortunes take a turn for the worse after you’ve irrevocably transferred a sizable portion of your wealth? If your marriage is strong, a spousal lifetime access trust (SLAT) can be a viable strategy to obtain the benefits of an irrevocable trust while creating a financial backup plan. Indirect access A SLAT is an irrevocable trust that authorizes the trustee to make distributions to your spouse if a need arises. Like other.