The clock is ticking, but like Alice we cannot see what lies at the end of the rabbit hole. With pending elections, expiring tax provisions, exploding debt and a weak economy, the only certainty is that no one knows what the final tax structure will look like in 2013.
The estate tax "portability" provision, which was a part of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010, allows a surviving spouse to benefit from the unused exclusion from their spouse's estate. A recent IRS notice provides guidance with respect to an estate where the deceased has died before July 1, 2011.
President Obama’s federal health care law requires almost everyone to be insured and ensures coverage be made available to those if they are already ill or need expensive care.
A Buy-Sell Agreement (“BSA”) is a legally binding contract in the which the owners of a business establish when, to whom and at what price an owner can sell his or her interest in a business. BSA’s are a necessary element of any solid business plan in order to provide a smooth continuation of a business after the occurrence of a triggering event.
Now is the time to sit down with your financial planning team and review your personal financial and tax data in order to take advantage of planning opportunities.
The sweeping tax legislation passed by Congress in late December included a provision that raised the federal estate and gift tax exemption to $5 million per person. Without Congressional action, the exemption would have been $1 million per person.
After a year of indecision, politics, and drama, Congress finally enacted tax legislation that is not only extending the Bush tax cuts, but is also providing wonderful estate and wealth planning opportunities. The question on everyone’s mind, however, is whether the same uncertain tax situation will occur all over again in 2012 as the recently passed law has a sunset provision similar to the original Bush tax law.
It has been our theme throughout the year that this may be the best year to plan for the future, even with all of the uncertainty regarding tax legislation circulating through the Halls of Congress. The key is to plan with proven concepts before they are taken away! For many families, the key estate planning strategy is how to get assets out of one’s taxable estate while incurring the least amount of cost.
I recently had the opportunity to attend a conference in Washington, DC where I heard and met with officials from both the Treasury and the IRS. One needs to be careful when commenting on such meetings or attempting to predict what Congress will do, but I wanted to share my observations with you.
Since their creation, Roth IRAs have been among the best tax planning strategies available. After tax dollars are contributed and you are entitled to get tax free distributions of your investment and earnings once the five year test has been met and age 591/2 has been attained.
