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King,
Reinsch, Prosser & Co., L.L.P.
Estate and Gift Planning
Planning ahead can save your
family thousands of dollars in unnecessary taxes. You may be aware of
the $2,000,000 lifetime exclusion in 2008 for estates ($2,000,000 for
lifetime gifts). You may be surprised what your estate is worth. Add up
the
value of all your assets. Don’t forget life insurance that will be included
in your estate. If your total estate value exceeds the exclusion, you
should look into what a few simple planning techniques can save your family
at estate time. In addition, there are some very effective estate planning
ideas that can also cut your current income tax bill. Some planning possibilities:
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Current
tax law allows you to give $12,000 per recipient in 2008. Your
spouse may join in the gift even if he or she is not an owner
in the transferred asset. This means that you could transfer up
to $24,000 per year to each of your heirs. To double the annual
exclusion yet again, you may want to include spouses of your children.
The person receiving the gift does not need to be related to you.
These annual gifts do not reduce your lifetime exclusion. |
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If
you have property which is not needed for your retirement, maybe
it is a candidate for transferring during your lifetime. If it
is a large income-producer, the future income will be taxed to
the new owner and not to you, plus the property will be out of
your estate. |
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You
can make unlimited transfers to your spouse either during your
lifetime or through your estate. There are no taxes on spousal
transfers, regardless of size. But leaving everything to your
spouse may not be a good idea, since doing so fails to utilize
the lifetime exclusion amount in the estate of the first spouse
to die. Planning will allow you to use the exclusion in both estates,
and you'll be able to transfer twice as much to your heirs free
of estate tax. |
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With
proper planning, certain life insurance proceeds can be kept out
of your estate. |
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Estate
and gift planning is a very personal process. Each family plan
is unique. Effective planning should involve you, your accountant,
your attorney, and in many cases, an insurance agent and trust
officer. |
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Please
call us for an initial conference at no charge. We will help you
assess your need for estate and gift planning. If your financial
affairs are simple, the meeting will be short. If you have more
complicated matters, the meeting will be longer, but the time
will be well spent.
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Contact
us to request more information.
King,
Reinsch, Prosser & Co., L.L.P.
522 Fourth Street, Suite 200
Sioux City, IA 51101-1620
Telephone: (712) 258-5550
Fax: (712) 277-6705
E-mail: krpinfo@krpcpa.com
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