A Funeral Agent is not mandatory in your estate plan—however, it is a wise idea in order to avoid the following scenario…. Our client, recently passed at the age of 94. Having completed extensive estate planning, she had decided not to appoint a Funeral Agent, because she believed no family member would interfere with her
President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Action (the “Act”) on December 22, 2017, implementing a new law that affects many taxpayers. This newsletter highlights some of the changes to the federal estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax laws, as well as other issues for consideration to my clients and friends regarding their estate
Do you know the Estate and Gift Tax Exemptions for 2018? Do you know the new Annual Exclusion for 2018? The annual exclusion amount will be increased to $15,000 from $14,000 on January 1, 2018. It has been $ 14,000 since 2013. This is the amount that each person can give to another person without
Estate plans prepared for married couples vary in complexity and detail: the revocable trust and will typically provide that upon the death of the first spouse, the surviving spouse will serve as successor trustee of the Revocable Living Trust, and Executor of the Estate. This usually becomes the exact opposite intended when divorce is initiated.
Are we going to see Federal Estate Tax repeal? The “plan” unveiled by the Trump administration was a broad “outline” of a tax reform. Mr. Trump has suggested an alternative system may be to tax any increase in the value of an asset over time, for estate assets that exceed a generous exemption amount at
1. Providing for the management of assets for beneficiaries who cannot or cannot yet or do not want asset management, such as in the case of minors or individuals who are incapacitated. 2. Providing for a person’s spouse, and making sure that your selected beneficiaries receive their inheritance as opposed to a new spouse and
Too often a Revocable Living Trust fails because the clients do not understand the importance of transferring assets into the Trust. In most cases, this results in the unnecessary expense of a probate proceeding that could have been avoided. The New Jersey Revocable Living Trust is an entity designed to avoid probate and reduce estate
On October 14, 2016 Gov. Christie executed a new law that states New Jersey decedents who die during 2017 will not be subject to New Jersey estate tax unless their taxable estates are greater than $2,000,000. Thereafter, beginning with deaths occurring on January 1, 2018, the New Jersey estate tax is repealed. Those New Jersey
By now we should be aware of the recent change in the law which raised the gasoline tax 23 cents. Well, along with that gas tax increase a “deal” was made in Trenton that resulted in: (A) A reduction in the state Sales Tax from 7% down to 6.875 on January 1, 2017 and t
The core of Estate Planning is the life of each human being Do you recall the process that ultimately led to the completion of your estate plan? You asked a question or voiced a concern about estate planning. Do I need a living trust? Will my estate pay a lot in taxes at my death?