A certain amount of financial resources can be passed on to your heirs before the federal estate tax becomes applicable. This exclusion amount is not consistent from year to year however, and as a result you have to be ready to make adjustments.
The best way to be prepared at all times as things change is to develop a solid long-term working relationship with a good Indianapolis estate planning attorney. Your lawyer will gain an understanding of your unique situation and let you know when revisions may be necessary.
The above having been stated there are some significant changes to the estate tax parameters scheduled to take place at the end of this year. One of these involves the portability of the estate tax exclusion.
As of this writing the estate tax exclusion is considered to be portable. What this means in an estate planning context is that your spouse would be able to utilize your exclusion as well as his or her own if you were to pass away.
However, this portability provision is going to vanish when the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 expires at the end of this year and a surviving spouse will have just a single individual exclusion to utilize.
These types of details are something that the typical layperson is probably not going to be apprised of and this is understandable. Clearly, legal expertise is called for when you are serious about preserving your wealth. If you are looking for answers, take action right now to set up a convenient appointment with a dedicated, experienced Indianapolis estate planning attorney.
Mr. Kraft assists clients primarily in the areas of estate planning and administration, Medicaid planning, federal and state taxation, real estate and corporate law, bringing the added perspective of an accounting background to his work.
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