With only a few months to go until the end of the year, those who have not fully used their available lifetime gift, estate and generation skipping transfer exemptions may be running out of time. This paper outlines some ideas for making relatively simple and quick use of the opportunity, so that it does not go to waste.
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The windfall of inherited wealth often comes with feelings of guilt and elation, isolation and confusion. No wonder; when the financial gain is due to the loss of a loved one’s life, it feels crass to be excited about the opportunities an inheritance affords. Learning to be comfortable with inherited wealth is a process, a process of moving through emotional stages that can be aligned with the emotional stages of grief.
This white paper reviews how investors can take advantage of the current gift tax exemption without hurting their liquidity.
While life insurance is often purchased as a solution to funding estate taxes, it can also be inflexible and costly and is rarely a perfect antidote. This article discusses how insurance should be considered in conjunction with alternate lifetime estate planning solutions and proposes alternative atypical insurance designs that can offer substantially more efficiency and flexibility.
This white paper details strategies that take advantage of today’s favorable wealth transfer climate, and some important planning ideas designed to prepare your estate for the uncertainties of 2013.
This report sheds light on a little-noticed wrinkle triggered by possible new 2013 rate changes that will make some taxpayers no longer subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). Wealthy taxpayers currently paying AMT may see their effective marginal rates rise by as much as 12.5 percentage points under the law now scheduled to go into effect in January 2013.
Many people are aware that the current federal gift and estate tax exemption of $5 million is scheduled to revert to $1 million at the end of 2012. Not only is the exemption set to drop, tax rates are slated to increase from 35 percent to a range that tops out at 55 percent. This means that a single person who makes a $5 million gift on December 31, 2012 would owe no tax. That same gift made on the very next day would result in millions of dollars in tax due. This combination of unhappy tax consequences makes a compelling case for those giving property away before year end.
This paper provides an analysis of the new 3.8% Medicare surtax set to take effect in 2013 and recommends planning strategies to reduce its impact. Atlantic Trust suggests several vehicles to mitigate the effect of this tax, including tax-exempt bonds, rental real estate, S-Corporations, Roth IRA conversions, charitable remainder trusts and installment sales.
It has been more than three years since the enactment of Sec. 877A, which introduced a mark-to-market tax on U.S. persons expatriating on or after June 16, 2008. Its introduction has impacted the decisions of many to attain a green card or citizenship. It can be costly for wealthy individuals to become a covered expatriate (as described below) and, consequently, taking steps to avoid becoming a covered expatriate has become a fundamental part of pre-immigration planning.
Time is of the essence. Significant wealth planning opportunities are set to expire at the end of 2012. It is critical for wealthy families that have taken a wait and see approach to the future of gift and estate taxes to formulate a plan now. Developing and implementing well thought out and properly structured wealth planning strategies takes months, not weeks.