November 6, 2017

Are you currently following all the news about potential tax updates? If so, you’re not alone. Many people are expressing their concerns about whether or not tax issues will affect them if a major reform comes into play. 

Congressional Republicans and the White House have proposed a new tax reform plan that eliminates the Federal Estate Tax. However, while this would make it easier for some people to simplify their estate planning, avoiding complex strategies to produce a potential tax bill, this doesn’t mean that you should necessarily ignore estate planning overall. First of all, you want to ensure that your assets go to where they are needed the most.

The more complicated your family situation, the greater the need for a comprehensive estate plan. Remember that some states will still have state-level estate taxes. The majority of states do not have an estate tax, but six states have inheritance taxes that apply to the recipients of gifts and 14 states in addition to the District of Columbia have state level estate taxes. The exemption amounts are often much lower than the federal exemption of $5.49 million.

The need for federal tax planning in and of itself will also not go away and you should never skimp on estate planning because there are many different goals that you can still accomplish with this process and benefit from the insight of an attorney, who can help you to identify strategies to pass along your accumulated assets to your loved ones. Scheduling a consultation with an experienced estate planning attorney today is strongly recommended.