Recent News & Blog / Estate Planning
If Art Donations are Part of Your Estate Plan, Consider These Four Tips
Charitable giving is a key part of estate planning for many people. If you have a collection of valuable art and are charitably minded, consider donating one or more pieces to receive tax deductions. Generally, it’s advantageous to donate appreciated property to avoid capital gains taxes.
Properly Funding Your Revocable Trust is the Key to Unlocking Its Benefits
If your estate plan includes a revocable trust — also known as a “living” trust — it’s critical to ensure that the trust is properly funded. Revocable trusts offer significant benefits, including asset management (in the event you become incapacitated) and probate avoidance.
Companion Piece: Create a "Road Map" for Your Estate Plan
No matter how much effort you’ve invested in designing your estate plan, your will, trusts and other official documents may not be enough.
Moving a Trust Over State Lines Can Offer Tax Savings and Other Benefits
People who live in states with high income taxes sometimes relocate to a state with a more favorable tax climate. A similar strategy can be available for trusts.
Have You Properly Substantiated Your 2018 Charitable Gifts?
Donating to charity is a key estate planning strategy for many people. It reduces the size of your taxable estate and it can help you leave a lasting legacy with organizations you care about.
What You Need to Know About Filing Gift and Estate Tax Returns
Have you made substantial gifts of wealth to family members? Or are you the executor of the estate of a loved one who died recently? If so, you need to know whether you must file a gift or estate tax return.
Hastily Choosing an Executor Can Lead to Problems After Your Death
Choosing the right executor — sometimes known as a “personal representative” — is critical to the smooth administration of an estate. Yet many people treat this decision as an afterthought.
Sudden Impact: When a Spouse Unexpectedly Dies
What if the unthinkable happens and your spouse dies unexpectedly? Would you be prepared to cope emotionally and financially? As the surviving spouse, you’ll face several tasks and challenges.
Have You Had Your Annual Estate Plan Checkup?
An annual estate plan checkup is critical to the health of your estate plan. Because various exclusion, exemption and deduction amounts are adjusted for inflation, they can change from year to year, impacting your plan.
Automatic Extension Available for Making Portability Election
Portability allows a surviving spouse to apply a deceased spouse’s unused estate tax exemption amount toward his or her own transfers during life or at death.