A movement is growing to legalize electronic wills and trusts, which would allow people to complete the whole process online, without a lawyer or notary present. We live in a day and age where 81 percent of Americans possess a smartphone, and virtually everyone – 96 percent, as of 2016 – owns a cellphone …
In 2017, the IRS announced that the estate and gift tax exemption for individuals would be a total of $11.18 million. Then, the following year, the IRS announced another change to the estate tax, bringing that exemption up to $11.4 million. This means that any and all estate plans previously built on the basis of …
It can be frustrating and work-intensive enough to plow through tax preparation. But completing the forms, then having to redo the work because you weren’t aware of tax law changes is even worse. Knowing current 2019 tax law is the best way to avoid either slipping up on your return or making costly, time-consuming mistakes. …
The current tax reform bill signed into law by President Trump earlier last year and gone into effect starting this year (2018), has made significant changes to quite a few different types of taxes – not just for individuals, but for businesses, estates, and tax-exempt organizations like charities. Named the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act …
Last year’s unveiled new tax plan changed the game for 2018 and onwards, taking significant steps to diminish the power and reach of the estate tax and make changes to the gift tax. Eliminating the one and raising exemptions for the other have long been goals for the Republican party, and while the President’s campaign …
The new Republican 2018 US tax law has fought a political battle to be here, and has seen much opposition and criticism by both the public and select economists, but the pessimism surrounding the GOP’s new tax law is unfounded and may even be misleading. Regardless of whether you cash in your checks or run …
The estate tax is basically an inheritance tax that people with a total value of over $5.49 million (in 2017) pay when they die. Anyone below that value is tax exempt upon death. This means it only affects a few thousand Americans every year – about 1 in 500 deaths. This makes it a divisive …