When it comes to your financial legacy, business owners and executives who accumulate a significant amount of their net worth in their company’s stock rely on the current tax law stating that the basis in assets left to heirs is “stepped up” at death, to the fair market value as of the date of death.
Created to own and control a life insurance policy or policies while the insured is alive, Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILITs) are tools that are sometimes recommended by estate and planners.
Once you create a life estate, property rights vest in your heir.
When beneficiaries receive a payout from a life insurance policy, they typically don’t have to pay taxes. However, there are a few situations where a portion of the life insurance benefit is taxable to the beneficiary.
Before making a decision on a beneficiary, it’s very important to check your state laws. Some states have different rules on who you can name as a beneficiary.
In early 2022, Bloomberg News reported that Americans can expect to inherit $72.6 trillion over the next quarter century—more than twice as much as a decade ago. With so much potential generational wealth on the line, there is always a risk that it will become the subject of a dispute.
The Internal Revenue Service Today announced new inflation-adjusted limits for 2023 that will allow well-off individuals to transfer much more to their heirs tax free during life—or at death.
Grantor-retained annuity trusts, or ‘Grats,’ are a wealth-transfer technique that shift investment growth out of an estate to heirs tax-free.
Robert, the older brother, and Lon, the younger one, were close as they were growing up in the Queens borough of New York City. However, when their mother passed away and left the bulk of her estate to Robert, Lon was devastated.
Doing some ‘upstream’ planning now will take the guesswork out of what’s coming your way.
