4Thought Blog

With holidays and end of year tax planning, the time around the new year is pretty popular for financial gifts.

There’s a recent tax court ruling that emphasizes the timing of the gift and when it is considered to be a completed gift; specifically when gifts are made by checks at the end of the year. The court recently ruled that gifts don’t count if the checks aren’t cashed.

The election might bring about a lot of changes, especially to the current federal tax laws.

One of the potential biggest impacts would be on estate planning, so if you’re looking to transition wealth to the next generation, now is the time to do so.

The current lifetime gift tax exemption amount is $11.58 million dollars per individual, which is the highest it has ever been. It’s scheduled to sunset at the end of 2025 and revert back to a $5 million exemption level, adjusted for inflation, but that timeline could be shortened depending on the results of the election or other future congressional action.

CPAs are best suited to evaluate the tax consequences of estate plans. Business owners and other high-net-worth individuals should strongly consider making or updating an estate plan to reduce estate taxes and ensure your assets are distributed according to your wishes.

So many moments in our lives we come to a fork in the road. Should I or shouldn’t I? Left or right?

One of these crossroads may be a decision of whether or not to be named a trustee of a trust. It is not a decision to be made lightly. Before you decide whether to take on both the honor and responsibility of being a trustee, there are several factors to take into consideration which may help you in making that decision.

Establishing an estate plan is one of the most important steps you can take to protect yourself and your loved ones. In addition to saving taxes, it’s essential to ensure your assets will be distributed according to your wishes.

In many instances, people spend more time planning a family vacation than they do planning their estates. They look at estate planning as a burden instead of an opportunity. You’ve worked hard your whole life to provide for your family and make your loved ones more secure, so be sure to have an estate plan.