ESTATE PLANNING

When little things mean a lot: Estate planning for personal property

Personal items — which may have modest monetary value but significant sentimental value — may be more difficult to address in an estate plan than big-ticket items. Squabbling over these items may lead to…

Estates now have an additional three years to file for a portability election

Portability allows a surviving spouse to apply a deceased spouse’s unused federal gift and estate tax exemption amount toward his or her own transfers during life or at death. To secure these benefits, however,…

Add estate planning flexibility with a power of appointment

The best laid plans can go awry. After your death, events may transpire that you hadn’t anticipated or couldn’t have reasonably foreseen. There’s no way of predicting the future, but you may want to…

A living will can help ensure your last medical wishes are carried out

According to a University of Pennsylvania report, approximately 37% of Americans have “advance directives,” which include living wills and power-of-attorney designations. These documents specify what should occur and who should make medical decisions should…

Addressing adopted children or stepchildren in your estate plan

Families that have children who are adopted, or stepchildren who haven’t been legally adopted, may face unique estate planning challenges. Additional consideration must be taken when a family includes an unmarried couple in a…

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…

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