Consider an Estate Planning Checklist

August 30, 2021

We know why estate planning for your assets, family and legacy falls through the cracks. It’s not the thing a new parent wants to think about while cuddling a newborn, or a grandparent wants to think about as they prepare for a family get-together. However, this is an important thing to take care of, advises a recent article from Kiplinger titled “2021 Estate Planning Checkup: Is Your Estate Plan Up to Date? Consider maintaining an estate planning checklist to keep your planning current.

Every four years, or every time a trigger event occurs—birth, death, marriage, divorce, relocation—the estate plan needs to be reviewed. Reviewing an estate plan is a relatively straightforward matter and neglecting it could lead to undoing strategic tax plans and unnecessary costs.

Moving to a new state? Estate laws are different from state to state, so what works in one state may not be considered valid in another. You’ll also want to update your address, and make sure that family and advisors know where your last will can be found in your new home.

Changes in the law. The last five years have seen an inordinate number of changes to laws that impact retirement accounts and taxes. One big example is the SECURE Act, which eliminated the Stretch IRA, requiring heirs to empty inherited IRA accounts in ten years, instead of over their lifetimes. A strategy that worked great a few years ago no longer works. However, there are other means of protecting your heirs and retirement accounts.

Do you have a Power of Attorney? A POA gives a person you authorize the ability to manage your financial, business, personal and legal affairs, if you become incapacitated. If the POA is old, a bank or investment company may balk at allowing your representative to act on your behalf. If you have one, make sure it’s up to date and the person you named is still the person you want. If you need to make a change, it’s very important that you put it in writing and notify the proper parties.

Health Care Power of Attorney needs to be updated as well. Marriage does not automatically authorize your spouse to speak with doctors, obtain medical records or make medical decisions on your behalf. If you have strong opinions about what procedures you do and do not want, the Health Care POA can document your wishes.

Last Will and Testament is Essential. Your last will needs regular review throughout your lifetime. Has the person you named as an executor four years ago remained in your life, or moved to another state? A last will also names an executor for your property and a guardian for minor children. It also needs to have trust provisions to pay for your children’s upbringing and to protect their inheritance.

Speaking of Trusts. If your estate plan includes trusts, review trustee and successor appointments to be sure they are still appropriate. You should also check on estate and inheritance taxes to ensure that the estate will be able to cover these costs. If you have an irrevocable trust, confirm that the trustee is still ready and able to carry out the duties, including administration, management and tax returns.

Gifting in the Estate Plan. Laws concerning charitable giving also change, so be sure your gifting strategies are still appropriate for your estate. An estate plan review is also a good time to review the organizations you wish to support.

It is a wise and prudent choice to consider maintaining an estate planning checklist to ensure that your planning is up to date with your life. If you would like to learn more about crafting an estate plan, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: Kiplinger (July 28, 2021) “2021 Estate Planning Checkup: Is Your Estate Plan Up to Date?

Charitable Remainder Trusts can reduce Taxes

August 25, 2021

Rising prices for investments and real estate is making owners of these assets concerned about paying exorbitant taxes amid discussions of possible changes in the near future. According to a recent article from The Street titled “Retirement Saving and Charitable Remainder Trusts,” having a strategy on hand to prepare for or even avoid these taxes is a wise move. People who are charitably inclined may want to take a closer look at how Charitable Remainder Trusts, or CRTs, can reduce taxes and provide a generous gift to worthy charities.

There are two basic types of CRTs: the Charitable Remainder UniTrust, or CRUT, and the Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust, or CRAT. In both types of trusts, the charity receives the “remainder” of the principal once the income interest ends. Income from the trust is given to a non-charity beneficiary for a certain period of time, or as in many cases, for the entire life of the beneficiary until it’s time for the remainder principal to be donated.

The key difference between the CRAT and the CRUT are how the income payment is calculated. In a CRUT with a 5% payout, the 5% is based on the value of the CRUT each and every year. Obviously that payment amount fluctuates according to the performance of the assets held by the CRUT. In a CRAT, payments are fixed based on in the initial contribution made to set up the account. Your estate planning attorney will be able to recommend the right vehicle for you and your family.

A CRT may be funded with highly appreciated assets because selling within the CRT results in no capital gains to the donor. Any proceeds may be reinvested to generate the needed income, while at the same time potentially growing the remainder asset for charity.

An administrator is hired to evaluate the trust to ensure its compliance, and the administrator’s role is to advise the trustee on the amount of the distribution annually to the beneficiary.

Since the charity is the remainder beneficiary, the grantor is not able to deduct the entire amount of the contribution to the CRT. The deduction is determined by the income payments selected and the terms of the CRT. There are software programs used to calculate the approximate deduction based on the input. The higher the income payment, the lower the deduction.

Note that if you are giving highly appreciated long-term capital gains assets, only 30% of the adjusted gross income can be given. The rest may be carried forward for five years. This should be considered when determining how much to contribute to the CRT.

The choice of CRTs lets you design a desired income stream from the trust. The taxability of the CRT is based on the types of assets used. There are four tiers, as defined by the IRS: ordinary income (which includes current year and accumulated income) and qualified dividends; capital gains; other tax-exempt income; and return of principal.

To solve the problem of choosing a charity, many prefer to use a Donor Advised Fund as a beneficiary. The DAF can be treated like a charity for tax purposes. The DAF lets you control how the account is funded and the timing of distribution of assets. The charities do not need to be named when the CRT is first created.

The Charitable Remainder Trust can reduce taxes for people who would be making gifts to support meaningful causes. Your estate planning attorney will be able to help you set up a CRT to work in tandem with the rest of your estate plan.

If you would like to learn more about Charitable Remainder Trusts and how they can benefit your planning, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: The Street (June 25, 2021) “Retirement Saving and Charitable Remainder Trusts”

Charitable options to Reduce Estate Taxes

July 7, 2021

Increasing tax changes for the wealthy are coming, and motivation to find ways to protect the wealth is getting increased attention, according to a recent article from CNBC entitled “Here’s how to reduce exposure to tax increases with charitable contributions.” Charitable remainder trusts (CRTs) and Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) are options for people who are already charitably inclined to reduce estate taxes. The CRT is complicated, requiring estate planning attorneys to create them and accountants to maintain them. The DAF is simpler, less expensive and is growing in popularity.

Both enable income tax deductions, in the current year or carried forward for five years, on cash contributions of up to 60% of the donors’ AGI and up to 30% of AGI on contributed assets. These contributions also reduce the size of taxable estates.

CRTs funnel asset income into a tax-advantaged cash stream that goes to the donor or another designated non-charitable beneficiary. The income stream flows for a set term or, if desired, for the lifetime of the non-charitable beneficiary. The trusts must be designed, so that at the end of the term, at least 10% of the funds remain to be donated to a charity, which must be designated at the outset.

No tax is due on proceeds from the sale of trust assets, until the cash makes its way to the non-charitable beneficiary. When assets are held by individuals, their sale creates capital gains tax in the year they are sold.

CRT donors can fund the trusts with highly appreciated assets, then manage them for optimal returns while minimizing tax exposure by adjusting the income stream to spread the tax burden over an extended period of time. If capital gains tax rates are raised by Congress, this would be even better for high earners.

DAFs do not allow dispersals to non-charitable beneficiaries. All gains must ultimately be donated to charity. However, the DAF provides advantages. They are easy to create and can be set up with most large financial service companies. Their cost is lower than CRTs, which have recurring fees for handling required IRS filings and trust management. Charges from financial institutions typically range from 0.1% to 1% annually, depending upon the size, and a custodial fee for holding the account.

DAFs can be created and funded by individuals or a family and receive a deduction that very same year. There is no hurry to name the charitable beneficiaries or direct donations. With a CRT, donors must name a charitable beneficiary when the trust is created. These elections are difficult to change in the future, since the CRT is an irrevocable trust. The DAF allows ongoing review of giving goals.

Funding a DAF can be done with as little as $5,000. The DAF contribution can include shares of privately owned businesses, collectibles, even cryptocurrency, as long as the valuation methods used for the assets meet IRS rules. Donors can get tax deductions without having to use cash, since a wide range of assets may be used.

The DAF is a good way for less wealthy individuals and families to qualify for itemizing tax deductions, rather than taking the standard deduction. DAF donations are deductible the year they are made, so filers may consolidate what may be normally two years’ worth of donations into a single year for tax purposes. This is a way of meeting the IRS threshold to qualify for itemizing deductions.

Both charitable options are effective ways to reduce estate taxes. Which of these two works best depends upon your individual situation. With your estate planning attorney, you’ll want to determine how much of your wealth would benefit from this type of protection and how it would work with your overall estate plan.

If you would like to learn more about charitable contributions, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: CNBC (April 20, 201) “Here’s how to reduce exposure to tax increases with charitable contributions.”

Retirement Assets to include in your Planning

July 1, 2021

You have spent a lifetime saving money for retirement, but which of those retirement assets do you include in your planning? Depending on your intentions for retirement accounts, they may need to be managed and used in distinctly different ways to reach the dual goals of enjoying retirement and leaving a legacy. It’s all explained in a helpful article from Kiplinger, “Planning for Retirement Assets in Your Estate Plan”.

Start by identifying goals and dig into the details. Do you want to leave most assets to your children or grandchildren? Has philanthropy always been important for you, and do you plan to leave large contributions to organizations or causes?

This is not a one-and-done matter. If your intentions, beneficiaries, or tax rules change, you’ll need to review everything to make sure your asset planning still works.

How accounts are titled and how assets will be passed can create efficient tax results or create tax liabilities. This needs to be aligned with your estate plan. Check on beneficiary designations, asset titles and other documents to make sure they all work together.

Review investments and income. If you’ve retired, pensions, annuities, Social Security and other steady sources of income may be supplemented from your taxable investments. Required minimum distributions (RMDs) from tax deferred accounts are also part of the mix. Make sure you have enough income to cover regular and unanticipated medical, long term care or other expenses.

Once your core income has been determined, it may be wise to segregate any excess capital you intend to use for wealth transfer or charitable giving. Without being set apart from other accounts, these assets may not be managed as effectively for tax planning and long-term goals.

Establish a plan for taxable assets. Children or individuals can be better off inheriting highly appreciable taxable investment accounts, rather than traditional IRAs. These types of accounts currently qualify for a step-up in cost basis. This step-up allows the beneficiary to sell the appreciated assets they receive as inheritance, without incurring capital gains.

Here’s an example: an heir receives 1,000 shares of a stock with a $20 per share cost basis valued at $120 per share at the time of the owner’s death. They will pay no capital gains taxes on the gain of $100 per share. However, if the same stock was sold while the retiree owner was living, the $100,000 gain in total would have been taxed. The post-death appreciation, if any, on such inherited retirement assets, would be subject to capital gains taxes.

Retirees often try to preserve traditional IRAs and qualified accounts, while spending taxable accounts to take advantage of lower capital gains taxes as they take distributions. However, this sets heirs up for a big tax bill. Another strategy is to convert a portion of those assets to a Roth IRA and pay taxes now, allowing the assets to grow tax free for you and your heirs.

Segregate assets earmarked for charitable donations. If a charity is named as a beneficiary for a traditional IRA, the charity receives the assets tax free and the estate may be eligible for an estate deduction for federal and state estate taxes.

Your estate planning attorney can help you understand how to structure your assets to meet goals for retirement, and to include in your planning. Saving your heirs from estate tax bills that could have been avoided with prior planning will add to their memories of you as someone who took care of the family.

If you would like to learn more about how to include retirement assets in your estate planning, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: Kiplinger (May 21, 2021) “Planning for Retirement Assets in Your Estate Plan”

Charitable Contribution Deductions from an Estate

March 31, 2021

The interest in charitable giving increased in 2020 for two reasons. One was a dramatic increase in need as a result of the COVID pandemic, reports The Tax Advisor’s article “Income tax deductions for trusts and estates.” The other was more pragmatic from a tax planning perspective. The CARES Act increased the amounts of charitable contributions that may be deducted from taxes by individuals and corporations. What if a person wishes to make a donation from the assets that are held in trust? Is that still an income tax deduction? It depends. The rules for charitable contribution deductions from an estate are substantially different than those for individuals and corporations.

The IRS code allows an estate or nongrantor trust to make a deduction which, if pursuant to the terms of the governing instrument, is paid for a purpose specified in Section 170(c). For trusts created on or before October 9, 1969, the IRS code expands the scope of the deduction to allow for a deduction of the gross income set aside permanently for charitable purposes.

If the trust or estate allows for payments to be made for charity, then donations from a trust are allowed and may be tax deductions. Otherwise, they cannot be deducted.

If the trust or estate allows distributions for charity, the type of asset contributed and how it was acquired by the trust or estate determines whether a tax deduction for a charitable donation is permitted. Here are some basic rules, but every situation is different and requires the guidance of an experienced estate planning attorney.

Cash donations. A trust or estate making cash donations may deduct to the extent of the lesser of the taxable income for the year or the amount of the contribution.

Noncash assets purchased by the trust/estate: If the trust or estate purchased marketable securities with income, the cost basis of the asset is considered the amount contributed from gross income. The trust or estate cannot avoid recognizing capital gain on a noncash asset that is donated, while also deducting the full value of the asset contributed. The trust or estate’s deduction is limited to the asset’s cost basis.

Noncash assets contributed to the trust/estate: If the trust or estate acquired an asset it wants to donate to charity as part of the funding of the fiduciary arrangement, no charity deduction is permitted. The asset that is part of the trust or estate’s corpus, the principal of the estate, is not gross income.

The order of charitable deductions, compared to distribution deductions, can cause a great deal of complexity in tax planning and reporting. Required distributions to noncharitable beneficiaries must be accounted for first, and the charitable deduction is not taken into account in calculating distributable net income. The recipients of the distributions do not get the benefit of the deduction. The trust or the estate does.

Charitable distributions are considered next, which may offset any remaining taxable income. Last are discretionary distributions to noncharitable beneficiaries, so these beneficiaries may receive the largest benefit from any charitable deduction.

If there are charitable contribution deductions from an estate, it must file form 1041A for the relevant tax year, unless it meets any of the exceptions noted in the instructions in the form.

These are complex estate and tax matters, requiring the guidance of an experienced estate planning attorney for optimal results. If you would like to learn more about charitable giving in your estate planning, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: The Tax Advisor (March 1, 2021) “Income tax deductions for trusts and estates”

Donor Advised Fund is a Win-Win for All Concerned

March 3, 2021

Many Americans are feeling charitable these days, and with good reasons. It’s a hard time for many, and if you are financially able, making donations may help you feel you are making a difference for others during uncertain times. There are many options when making donations, and the recent article “Choosing Charity: How Donor-Advised Funds Benefit Your Contributions” from Fort Worth Magazine explains your choices. A Donor Advised Fund is a win-win situation for all concerned.

Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) can be opened for varying amounts, that are set by the sponsoring organizations. Smaller community foundations would welcome a DAF for $5,000, for instance. DAFs can be funded with cash or other assets, but once the donation is made, the asset no longer belongs to you. However, you may be able to decide when donations are distributed, and which charities receive funding. There are no required distribution dates, so the funds could go unused for a long time, while you receive the tax write-off right away.

You may also determine the investments within the fund, level of risk and overall investment strategy.

Another good reason to use DAFs: the sponsoring organization becomes the donor of record. Therefore, DAFs are an excellent way to make anonymous contributions.

There are also DAFs that involve active involvement from an advisor, if that is of value to you.

Why is now a great time to use a Donor-Advised Fund?

Some investors have highly appreciated assets that could lead to a significant tax liability, if they were sold right now. DAF offers an alternative—rather than sell the assets and pay taxes, putting them into a DAF can achieve the following:

You receive a tax deduction,
There are no capital gains taxes, and
Your chosen the charity that fully benefits from the funds.

The pandemic has left many people facing uncertainty. Therefore, now isn’t the right time for everyone to open their wallets and a DAF. However, if you are charitably-minded and in a financial position to benefit, a Donor Advised Fund is a win-win for all concerned. If you would like to learn more about charitable giving, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: Fort Worth Magazine (Feb. 3, 2021) “Choosing Charity: How Donor-Advised Funds Benefit Your Contributions”

There are Pros and Cons to Charitable Trusts

January 21, 2021

A charitable trust can provide an alternative to meeting your wishes for charities and your loved ones, while serving to minimize tax liabilities. There are pros and cons to charitable trusts, according to a recent article titled “Here’s how to create a charitable trust as part of an estate plan” from CNBC. Many families are considering their tax planning for the next few years, aware that the individual income tax provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will expire after 2025.

Creating a charitable trust may work to achieve wishes for charities, as well as loved ones.

A charitable trust is a set of assets, usually liquid, that a donor signs over to or uses to create a charitable foundation. The assets are then managed by the charity for a specific period of time, with some or all of the interest the assets produce benefitting the charity.

When the period of time ends, the assets, now called the remainder, can go to heirs, or can be donated to the charity (although they are usually returned to heirs).

There are pros and cons to charitable trusts such as Charitable Remainder Trusts and Charitable Lead Trusts. Your estate planning attorney will determine which one, if any, is appropriate for you and your family.

A charitable trust allows you to give generously to an organization that has meaning to you, while providing an equally generous tax break for you and your heirs. However, to achieve this, the charitable trust must be irrevocable, so you can’t change your mind once it’s set in place.

Charitable trusts provide a way to ensure current or future distributions to you or to your loved ones, depending on your unique circumstances and goals.

A Charitable Remainder Trust, or CRT, provides an income stream either to you or to individuals you select for a set period of time, which is typically your lifetime, your spouse’s lifetime, or the lifetimes of your beneficiaries. The remaining assets are ultimately distributed to one or more charities.

By contrast, the Charitable Lead Trust (CLT) pays income to one or more charities for a set term, and the remaining assets pass to individuals, such as heirs.

For CRTs and CLTs, the annual distribution during the initial term can happen in two ways; a Unitrust (CRUT or CLUT) or an Annuity Trust (CRAT or CLAT).

In a Unitrust, the income distribution for the coming year is calculated at the end of each calendar year and it changes, as the value of the trust increases or decreases.

In an Annuity Trust, the distribution is a fixed annual distribution determined as a percentage of the initial funding value and does not change in future years.

Interest rates are a key element in determining whether to use a CLT or a CRT. Right now, with interest rates at historically low levels, a CRT yields minimal income.

The key benefits to a CRT include income tax deductions, avoidance of capital gains taxation, annual income and a wish to support nonprofit organizations.

Your estate planning attorney and a member of the development team from the charity can work together to ensure that your charitable strategy achieves your goals of supporting the charity and building your legacy.

If you are interested in learning more about charitable giving, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: CNBC (Dec. 22, 2020) “Here’s how to create a charitable trust as part of an estate plan”

Creating a Successful Business Exit Plan

January 14, 2021

Motley Fool’s recent article titled “What Robert Redford’s Sale of Sundance Can Teach Investors About Exit Planning” says that, in announcing the sale, Redford told the Salt Lake Tribune that he’s been thinking of selling for several years. However, he wanted to find the right partners. Broadreach and Cedar plan to upgrade the resort, add hotel rooms and build a new inn. The companies have also said that they will keep the resort sustainable and practicing measured growth, as well as also continuing to host the Sundance Film Festival. So how did he set about creating a successful business exit plan?

The 2,600-acre resort has 1,845 acres of land saved from future development through a conservation easement and protective covenants. The 84-year-old actor has had a lifelong interest in the environment and in land stewardship. Redford and his family have also arranged with Utah Open Lands to create the Redford Family Elk Meadows Preserve at the base of Mt. Timpanogos. The gift will reduce Redford’s tax liability on his estate.

Both Broadreach and Cedar have extensive hospitality experience, but neither looks to have much ski resort experience. However, they’re working with Bill Jensen, an industry legend, who recently left his role as CEO of Telluride Ski and Golf Resort in Colorado.

Creating a successful business exit plan can be difficult—in part, because people don’t like to address such unwelcome topics. Most investors don’t have the luxury of waiting years to find the right buyer, but the Redford deal does show that planning ahead may be critical to creating a mechanism that supports the vision for the property.

When selling a large investment property, you must first understand why you’re selling, and your desired end result. Of course, a return on investment is nice, but there may be other considerations, like in Redford’s case. Another key is ascertaining the updated worth of what you’re selling. Get a valuation, especially with an irreplaceable asset.

The structure of the sale is important. You will likely be liable for tax on your capital gains, so ask an attorney. If you’re also structuring your estate plans at the same time, you’ll need to know what amount you can give and what your heirs may have to pay. Talk to an experienced estate planning attorney before you begin creating a business exit plan to be certain that you’re covering all the bases.

If you are interested in learning more about succession planning and other business related planning topics, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: Motley Fool (Dec. 12, 2020) “What Robert Redford’s Sale of Sundance Can Teach Investors About Exit Planning”

Keeping Your Medicare Premiums Low

November 18, 2020

Here’s a generous incentive for older Americans who want to help their favorite charities: by giving generously from the right asset source, you could be keeping your Medicare premiums low for 2022. The details come from the article “Feeling altruistic? This tax strategy can keep Medicare premiums in check” from CNBC.

People who are age 70½ and over are allowed to make qualified charitable distributions from their IRAs. The IRA owner directs the custodian holding the account to transfer up to $100,000 directly to a charity. The transaction must be a direct transfer, and donor-advised funds or private foundations are not eligible for this strategy.

This is a staple of year-end tax planning for many, hitting two targets at once: older savers meet their required minimum distributions without a tax hit and their favorite causes get support. This year, there is no RMD, as a result of the CARES Act, the coronavirus relief measure that went into effect in the spring. However, a qualified charitable distribution still makes sense for people who were planning on making large donations.

Keeping your Medicare premiums low for 2022 Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) and Part D (Prescription Coverage) itself is worth consideration.

Giving via a Qualified Charitable Distribution will not inflate the Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) for that year, and you also won’t pay taxes on the distribution. Remember, Medicare premiums are based on the MAGI from two (2) previous years.

It’s great to support nonprofit agencies that have meaning to you. However, doing it without taking advantage of tax planning is a lost opportunity.

In 2020, single taxpayers with a 2018 MAGI up to $87,000 (or $174,000 for married and filing jointly) pay $144.60 a month for Medicare Part B. Premiums increase depending on your MAGI, all the way up to $491.60 per month for individual taxpayers with a 2018 MAGI of $500,000 or more.

This is something to work on with your estate planning attorney, as going just one dollar over your income bracket could raise your premiums by thousands. Your estate planning attorney will be able to guide you through the various brackets, which must consider any other sources of taxable income.

Charitable giving is a great tool to shave tax liability and keep your Medicare premiums low, while still doing good. Donations of appreciated stock are another strategy. Just remember that for this type of giving, you’ll need to be itemizing deductions on the return, if you want to write them off. With the standard deduction so high, it may be hard to meet that hurdle.

If you would like to learn more about Medicare costs and planning, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: CNBC (Oct. 23, 2020) “Feeling altruistic? This tax strategy can keep Medicare premiums in check”

How Do I Protect an Inheritance from Taxes?

July 29, 2020

How do I protect an inheritance from taxes? Inheritances aren’t income for federal tax purposes, whether you inherit cash, investments or property. However, any subsequent earnings on the inherited assets are taxable, unless it comes from a tax-free source. Therefore, you must include the interest income in your reported income.

The Street’s recent article entitled “4 Ways to Protect Your Inheritance from Taxes” explains that any gains when you sell inherited investments or property are usually taxable. However, you can also claim losses on these sales. State taxes on inheritances vary, so ask a qualified estate planning attorney about how it works in your state.

The basis of property in a decedent’s estate is usually the fair market value (FMV) of the property on the date of death. In some cases, however, the executor might choose the alternate valuation date, which is six months after the date of death—this is only available if it will decrease both the gross amount of the estate and the estate tax liability. It may mean a larger inheritance to the beneficiaries.

Any property disposed of or sold within that six-month period is valued on the date of the sale. If the estate isn’t subject to estate tax, the valuation date is the date of death.

If you are concerned about protecting your inheritance from taxes, you might create a trust to deal with your assets. A trust lets you pass assets to beneficiaries after death without probate. With a revocable trust, the grantor can remove the assets from the trust, if necessary. However, in an irrevocable trust, the assets are commonly tied up until the grantor dies.

Let’s look at some other ideas on the subject of inheritance:

You should also try to minimize retirement account distributions. Inherited retirement assets aren’t taxable, until they’re distributed. Some rules may apply to when the distributions must occur, if the beneficiary isn’t the surviving spouse. Therefore, if one spouse dies, the surviving spouse usually can take over the IRA as their own. RMDs would start at age 72, just as they would for the surviving spouse’s own IRA. However, if you inherit a retirement account from a person other than your spouse, you can transfer the funds to an inherited IRA in your name. You then have to start taking RMDs the year of or the year after the inheritance, even if you’re not age 72.

You can also give away some of the money. Another way to protect an inheritance from taxes is give some of it away. Sometimes it’s wise to give some of your inheritance to others. It can assist those in need, and you may offset the taxable gains on your inheritance with the tax deduction you get for donating to a charitable organization. You can also give annual gifts to your beneficiaries, while you’re still living. The limit is $15,000 without being subject to gift taxes. This will provide an immediate benefit to your recipients and also reduce the size of your estate. Speak with an estate planning attorney to be sure that you’re up to date with the frequent changes to estate tax laws.

Reference: The Street (May 11, 2020) “4 Ways to Protect Your Inheritance from Taxes”

Category: Charitable Giving

Consider an Estate Planning Checklist

Charitable Remainder Trusts can reduce Taxes

Charitable options to Reduce Estate Taxes

Retirement Assets to include in your Planning

Charitable Contribution Deductions from an Estate

Donor Advised Fund is a Win-Win for All Concerned

There are Pros and Cons to Charitable Trusts

Creating a Successful Business Exit Plan

Keeping Your Medicare Premiums Low

How Do I Protect an Inheritance from Taxes?

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