We would like to pass along a reminder about the pending changes to the unified gift/estate tax parameters. A very limited window of opportunity still remains and it is something that you should be aware of if you are serious about wealth preservation. Nonexempt gifts that you give while you are still alive that exceed the lifetime exclusion amount are taxable. This exclusion sits at $5.12 million for the rest of 2012, but it is going down to $1 million next year. Simply put, you could divest … [Read more...] about Gift Tax Exclusion Plummets in 2013
Gift Tax
A Look at Cash Gifts From a Tax Perspective
Estate planning attorneys are often asked questions about how gifts are taxed. We would like to take a brief look at the subject here. When it comes to gifting there is a giver and a receiver. Someone who receives a cash gift does not have to pay income tax on these incoming funds. There is however a caveat. For example, if you were to receive a certificate of deposit as a gift there would be appreciation over time. Any earnings that are accumulated above and beyond the initial amount of the … [Read more...] about A Look at Cash Gifts From a Tax Perspective
Indirect Giving Can Provide Tax Savings
It is sometimes said that no good deed goes unpunished and this would seem to apply to gift giving in the United States. We have a federal gift tax that is unified with the estate tax. So, any gifts that you give that exceed the lifetime exclusion that is afforded to you are taxable at a rate of 35% in 2012. If this was not enough, next year the rate goes up to 55%. If your resources do exceed the exclusion amount you may want to look for ways to transfer assets to people who would someday be … [Read more...] about Indirect Giving Can Provide Tax Savings
Candidates Will Invariably Talk Taxes
During the midterm election year of 2010 the Bush era tax cuts were scheduled to expire. This became an issue that was hotly debated on the campaign trail, and immediately after the elections a new tax relief bill was indeed passed. It has subsequently been named the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010. Now we are in another election-year and there is a sense of déjà vu in the air. The aforementioned tax relief act is going to expire at the end of … [Read more...] about Candidates Will Invariably Talk Taxes
Action Could Be Beneficial In 2012
There are those who consider estate planning to be a "one and done" endeavor. You sit down with a good central New Jersey estate planning lawyer, work up the appropriate documents, and then tuck them away in a lock box somewhere and forget about them. In reality estate planning is better viewed as an ongoing process just like financial planning in general. When you are managing your finances on an ongoing basis you are aware of the fact that you may have to take action at times as a response to … [Read more...] about Action Could Be Beneficial In 2012
The Benefits Of Gift Giving
Anyone who has seen children opening presents at the foot of the tree on Christmas morning knows the greatest benefit that you receive when you give someone a gift. It is uncanny how you feel when you are engaged in gift exchanges, even when the people involved are adults. For the most part all of the real emotions that you feel are selfless; you feel genuine gratitude for the gifts you receive, and you feel an ineffable but palpable sense of empathetic resonance when you are giving gifts to … [Read more...] about The Benefits Of Gift Giving
