What is an Incomplete Non-Grantor (ING) Trust? An ING trust is a trust you set up in which assets you transfer to it are not completed gifts for gift tax purposes, yet the trust is a separate taxpayer for income tax purposes. The primary purpose of ING trusts is to eliminate the state income tax owed on the assets in the trust. The ING trust must be carefully drafted so that grantor trust status is not inadvertently triggered, while also giving you, as grantor, enough powers over the trust so that your transfer of assets into the trust are not…
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What is Probate? Probate is the court proceeding in which a deceased person’s Will is filed with the court, and the court confirms the Will is valid and if so, formally appoints the person named in Will as the executor of the deceased person’s estate. Do All Wills Go Through Probate? Not all wills and estates have to go through probate. Even if a Will does need to be filed with the probate courts, this may be a simple procedure with little court oversight. Whether a will has to go through probate or not depends mostly on the type of…
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What Is a Beneficiary? A beneficiary is the person or entity who will receive benefits from a life insurance policy, qualified retirement plan, annuity, trust, or will upon the death of an individual. What Does it Mean When Someone Is the Beneficiary? The beneficiary of a life insurance policy, qualified retirement plan, annuity, trust, or a will is the person or charity that receives the death benefit. A beneficiary can be one person or two or more people or charities. Learn more about what to do if you inherit an IRA. Who Gets Money if There Is No Beneficiary? Generally,…
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What is a Living Will? A living will provides instructions to your healthcare provider in the event that you are unable to communicate. A living will dictates whether or not you wish to receive medical treatment to prolong your life if you suffer irreversible or terminal injury. Why is it Important to Have a Living Will? Having a living will cuts down on the uncertainty of your wishes by spelling out how you would like to proceed with the use of life-saving measures if the situation arises. A living will should always be a part of your estate plan. If…
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Mitigate New York’s Estate Tax Cliff with Smart Estate Planning and Gifting Strategies – 2022 Update
While the large increase in the federal estate tax exemption has provided many with federal estate tax relief, New Yorkers must continue to plan for New York estate tax. For a quick review of the New York Estate Tax “Cliff” basics, see the “Understanding New York’s Estate Tax “Cliff” blog post. What is the current exemption from New York estate tax again? The current New York estate tax exemption amount is $6,110,000 for 2022. Under current law, this number will remain until January 1, 2023, at which point it will rise again with inflation. Who does the Cliff affect? Everyone…
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This post will help you consider estate planning strategies in light of the current federal estate, gift and generation skipping transfer tax exemption, which in 2018 increased to $11.18M and has been indexed for inflation each year since then. However, the exemption amounts are scheduled to revert back to the pre-2018 exemptions (indexed for inflation) when the clock strikes midnight on January 1, 2026. Remind me what the numbers are. Below is a basic chart outlining the numbers (per person) pre-2018 as compared to the numbers currently. Remember these numbers relate to federal estate tax. We will discuss state estate…
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The bad news is that there is a federal tax on assets that you give away during life, at death, and to individuals two or more generations below you. The good news is that this tax will only apply to the wealthiest Americans and, even so, there are strategies you can use to minimize or avoid its application. The federal estate, gift and GST tax only kicks in above a certain dollar threshold. Furthermore, there are additional wealth transfer strategies that do not trigger any tax at all if structured properly. Taxable Gifts There is a federal estate and gift…
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What is a Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT)? It is a trust that you (the grantor) set up for the benefit of your spouse and your descendants. You would make a gift to the SLAT, using some of your federal lifetime gift exemption (currently $12.06M in 2022) to shield that gift from gift tax. While you give up all your rights and control over the gifted assets, your spouse will have access to the gifted assets as beneficiary of the SLAT. When does it make sense to have a SLAT? You should consider creating a SLAT if you have a…
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In 2014, dramatic changes were made to New York’s gift and estate tax law. For many clients, the subject of the New York estate tax “cliff” continues to remain a source of confusion. This is for good reason. The New York cliff is not easy to understand, nor is it easy to know how it may impact your particular situation. The answers below are intended to guide those who remain baffled by the New York estate tax cliff. Does New York have an estate tax? Yes. New York, like several other states, has a state estate tax. This means that…
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