The Internal Revenue Code grants spouses several tax benefits both during life and at death. Portability represents one of those benefits. Portability allows the surviving spouse to use the unused portion of the Applicable Exclusion Amount from their predeceased spouse. In Revenue Procedure 2022-32, the Internal Revenue Service extended the time during which a surviving spouse may elect portability without a Private Letter Ruling from two years to five years.
What does the “Inflation Reduction Act” do… for you?
President Biden scored a win on some issues, but a loss on others when he signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. The legislation left the estate and gift tax alone and made modest changes to the income tax. The Act will have a significant impact on those on Medicare because of the cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs and insulin.
What does the “Inflation Reduction Act” do… for you?Read More
Digital Death Planning
How does our digital legacy, or digital footprint, play into estate planning? How can we allocate digital assets after death? Legacy contacts and password managers (sometimes called “password lockers”) give people who own digital content control in determining what happens to the electronic information after they die. Feel free to follow this link to learn …
What the Proposed Treasury Regulations Mean for Deductions Under Internal Revenue Code Section 2053
To determine a decedent’s taxable estate, the Internal Revenue Code IRC) allows the decedent’s estate to utilize several deductions in various Code Sections, including Section 2053. The Treasury Regulations associated with Section 2053 were previously favorable to the taxpayer and contained broad language regarding the deductibility of claims and expenses. Recently, the Internal Revenue Service …
What Is Probate? Why Do People Avoid It?
One of the first questions we usually get here at the Slaton Schauer Law Firm, PLLC is “what is probate?” Once we get further into the estate planning process, another common question is “why should we avoid probate?” We’ll take a look at both of these questions here. Let’s start with a basic definition of …
5 Uncommon Trusts Demystified
You’ve probably heard of a trust before, but what about a semi-secret trust? Have you heard of a Totten trust? How about a rabbi trust? This article is an examination of five trust types you probably aren’t familiar with. Join us for an explanation of secret and semi-secret trusts, then keep on reading as we …
Three Essential Tips to Help Plan Your Estate
It’s summer, but you may be “frozen” by the sheer number of options when it comes to estate planning! Most people simply do not know where to start. Don’t be overwhelmed; in this post we’ll give you three solid tips on how to start your estate plan. 1) Don’t be overly concerned about taxation. Sometimes …
Domestic Trusts – Are You “Qualified?”
One great reason to work with an estate planning attorney is our ability to tailor an estate plan to your needs. Estate planning lawyers will work with you and your family in order to create the best system to meet your goals. With this in mind, let’s take a look at one device an estate …