
Brad Wiewel Talks About Estate Planning Tips
In today’s blog post, Brad Wiewel talks with NBC affiliate KXAN’s morning show, Studio 512, about estate planning tips for 2021. He and host Rosie

In today’s blog post, Brad Wiewel talks with NBC affiliate KXAN’s morning show, Studio 512, about estate planning tips for 2021. He and host Rosie

Trusts can be useful in estate planning for passing on assets to your heirs. A grantor retained income trust (GRIT) is a specific type of trust that allows you to transfer assets, while still benefiting from the income they generate.

Maybe not tomorrow, but the sunset of our historically high estate tax exemptions is coming—and with the election on its way, it could be sooner than you think.

If you’re single and die in 2020, you can have up to $11.58 million in assets before your heirs have to worry about paying a penny in estate taxes.

During this crazy 2020 tax year, in addition to being faced with all the issues surrounding Covid-19, as well as the roller coaster ride of the stock market, we are also currently in an environment where the interest rates are as low as they ever have been.

Federal estate, gift and GST tax exemptions are currently at historic highs ($11.58 million per individual in 2020). These higher exemptions are scheduled to return to $5 million, adjusted for inflation, after December 31, 2025, but they could be reduced before then, as a result of political or policy changes.

Despite many attempts at repeal over the years, the modern U.S. Estate Tax has been in place since September 8, 1916. Each U.S. citizen and resident alien is entitled to a lifetime exemption from the federal Gift/Estate Tax called the Applicable Exclusion Amount.

If you have updated your estate plan during the Covid crisis and even found a way to sign your documents while maintaining social distance, do not overlook the last step of trust funding.

If you like the way the laws are today, you need to take advantage of them now, before they are changed tomorrow. In other words, use it or lose it.

Life insurance may play a vital role in an estate plan, because insurance proceeds can be counted on to provide liquidity when it’s needed.