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
read more
One of the main advantages of undertaking estate planning is the avoidance of the probate process. Probate is the procedure by which a specialized or district court undertakes the distribution of a dead person’s belongings, which includes real estate, the contents of bank accounts, and personal items. The probate process can be unsettling, public, tiring,
read more
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
read more
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
read more