4Thought Blog

Nearly everyone should consider updating his or her estate plan. This is smart advice even if you're not currently exposed to the federal estate tax.

For 2019, the lifetime gift and estate tax exemption has reached a whopping $11.40 million ($22.80 million for married couples). As a result, few people will be subject to federal gift taxes.

If your wealth is well within the exemption amount, does that mean there’s no need to file gift tax returns? Not necessarily. There are many situations in which it’s necessary (or desirable) to file Form 709, “United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return” — even if you’re not liable for any gift taxes.

When a loved one who was "financially comfortable" passes away, his or her family must deal with the emotional issues that come with the loss — as well as winding up the decedent's financial affairs.

Surviving family members are often unprepared for the tax issues that may arise when a loved one dies. Here's some guidance to help you manage important tax and financial considerations during this difficult time.

Estate planning isn't just for the rich and famous. Many people mistakenly think that they don't need an estate plan anymore because of the latest tax law changes.

While it's true that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provides generous estate tax relief, even for well-to-do families, the need for estate planning has not been eliminated. There are still numerous reasons to develop a comprehensive estate plan and regularly update it.

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.

Beneficial rules for the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax are currently in force, which may allow you to pass on assets to future generations without a federal tax bill.

GST Tax Basics

When it comes to arranging for gifts and bequests to loved ones, most planning strategies focus on avoiding or minimizing the federal gift and estate taxes. Rightly so. But there's one more piece to the puzzle. It's called the generation skipping transfer tax. The GST tax is intended to snare those who would try to foil the federal gift and estate tax system by transferring wealth to persons more than one generation younger than themselves (typically grandchildren).

Are you interested in setting up a private foundation?

With this approach, you make contributions to a foundation and get a charitable tax deduction just as you would with any qualified organization. Then, as the director, you decide which charities you want to make distributions to so you retain control of the assets.

Effective January 1, 2018, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) reduces individual and corporate tax rates, eliminates a host of deductions and credits, enhances other breaks and makes numerous additional changes.

One thing the TCJA doesn’t do is repeal the federal gift and estate tax, as originally contemplated by the House of Representative’s version of the bill. It does, however, temporarily double the combined gift and estate tax exemption and the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemption, creating new estate planning challenges and opportunities.

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.

For many people with large estates, planning ahead and gifting to family members can save a bundle in taxes. This ultimately means your heirs may get more and Uncle Sam may get less. But before you start stuffing checks in envelopes and passing them out to your loved ones, you should know the basics of gifting. This article explains the current rules.