Plan Carefully before Taking Out Retirement Funds
If you think saving for retirement is complicated, try figuring out how to withdraw retirement funds while minimizing taxes.
If you think saving for retirement is complicated, try figuring out how to withdraw retirement funds while minimizing taxes.
Your DIY estate plan might miss important details.
A will is a legal document that spells out the distribution of your assets and how your children will be cared for at your death. Probate is a process used to prove a decedent’s will is valid and to supervise the handling of their estate.
A trust is a legal vehicle that allows a third party, a trustee, to hold and direct assets in a trust fund on behalf of a beneficiary. A trust greatly expands your options when it comes to managing your assets, whether you’re trying to shield your wealth from taxes or pass it on to your children.
Right now, gifts to trusts can take advantage of high tax exemptions and remove future appreciation of assets from taxable estates. One example available to spouses is making a gift to a trust that allows for a qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) election.
People tend to think of ‘529’ education-savings plans as an excellent way to save and invest tax-free for college or schooling costs, and they are.
Wealthy families could face combined tax rates of as much as 61% on inherited wealth under President Joe Biden’s tax plan, according to a recent analysis.
Under a tax-law exception this year, clients can make a lump-sum 2021 gift of up to $75,000 to fund a 529 college savings account for a child or grandchild (or any other college-bound individual) and claim a federal gift tax exclusion for the full amount.
The estate tax exemption raised by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will sunset in five years—possibly sooner, as the new Congress gears up for a Biden tax overhaul.
No one can predict the future—and navigating that reality is precisely what makes estate planning so complicated.