ESTATE PLANNING

The HSA: A healthy supplement to your wealth-building regimen

A Health Savings Account (HSA) can be a powerful tool for financing health care expenses while supplementing your other retirement savings vehicles. And it offers estate planning benefits to boot. ABCs of an HSA…

Opening up to SLAT opportunities

Estate tax planning can become complicated when multiple parties are involved. For example, you may be concerned about providing assets to a surviving spouse of a second marriage, while also providing for your children…

What estate planning strategies are available for non-U.S. citizens?

Are you, or is your spouse, a non-U.S. citizen? If so, several traditional estate planning techniques won’t be available to you. However, if you’re a U.S. resident, but not a citizen, the IRS will…

Defined-value gifts: Plan carefully to avoid unpleasant tax surprises

For 2022, the federal gift and estate tax exemption has reached its highest level ever. In fact, you can transfer up to $12.06 million by gift or bequest without triggering federal transfer taxes. This…

Does your trust need protection?

Designing an estate plan can be a delicate balancing act. On the one hand, you want to preserve as much wealth as possible for your family by protecting it from estate taxes and creditors’…

A tenancy-in-common interest can ease distribution of real estate

If your estate includes significant real estate investments, the manner in which you own these assets can have a dramatic effect on your estate plan. One versatile estate planning option to consider is tenancy-in-common…

Heading across state lines with your trust requires planning

In some cases, it may be desirable to move a trust to a more favorable jurisdiction. But moving a trust from one state to another can present significant risks, so don’t attempt to do…

Should a tax apportionment clause be in your estate plan?

Even though the federal gift and estate tax exemption is currently very high ($11.7 million for 2021), there are families that still have to contend with significant federal estate tax liability. Plus, the exemption…

Spendthrift trusts aren’t just for spendthrifts

Now that the federal gift and estate tax exemption has reached an inflation-adjusted $11.7 million for 2021, fewer estates are subject to the federal tax. And even though President Biden has proposed reducing the…

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