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Estate Tax Portability Estate tax portability means that the unused portion of the first-to-die spouse’s estate tax exemption passes to the surviving spouse. The current estate tax exemption is $5.45 million. This means that a married couple’s total estate tax exemption is currently $10.9 million (in 2016). For example, a […]
Category: Estate Planning
The loss of a loved one is a difficult time, often made more stressful when one has to handle the affairs of the deceased. This may be a great undertaking or rather minimal work, depending upon the level of estate planning done prior to death. Tasks that have to be […]
Estate planning is a powerful tool that among other things, enables you to direct exactly how your assets will be handled upon your death or disability. A well-crafted estate plan will ensure you and your family avoid the hassles of guardianship, conservatorship, probate or unpleasant estate tax surprises. Unfortunately, many […]
The recent proliferation of online estate planning document services has attracted many individuals to prepare their own estate documents in what appears to be a low-cost solution. However, this focus on price over value could mean your wishes will not be carried out and, unfortunately, nobody will know there is […]
Many people erroneously assume that when one spouse dies, the other spouse receives all of the remaining assets; this is often not true and frequently results in unintentional disinheritance of the surviving spouse. In cases where a couple shares a home but only one spouse’s name is on it, the […]