Estate Tax Pitfalls Seen In Court Case

- By : Parag Patel

…who owes what taxes from an estate. More “estate meltdowns” spring from the “Dad-buys-dinner” provision than from any other. The issue is only growing more acute as people transfer assets…

IRS Extends Late Portability Election Automatic Relief from 2 to 5 Years

- By : Parag Patel

…decedent’s estate isn’t required to file an estate tax return (that is, the decedent’s estate is below the filing threshold in IRC Section 6018(a)) and (4) the estate didn’t in fact file a…

How To Limit An Executor’s Personal Liability For A Decedent’s Unpaid Taxes

- By : Parag Patel

…the estate without first paying the taxes. If the executor does distribute estate assets in excess of the federal tax debt, the executor is only liable to the extent of…

Special Needs Planning

- By : Parag Patel

…child/children. A typical scenario for parents considering their estate planning is how to leave their estates to their children. When the children are still minors it is best to do…

Special Needs Planning Mistakes

- By : Parag Patel

…the trust or to name the SNT as a beneficiary of their own estate planning. 7. Procrastinating. It may seem obvious, but it is crucial to prepare to protect a…

What is a Stretch IRA?

- By : Parag Patel

…prepare your IRA Stretch Trust, you should choose an attorney who is knowledgeable in estate planning, retirement planning, current tax law and asset protection law. Choosing a Trustee – You…

Tax Planning Opportunities for High Net Worth Individuals

- By : Parag Patel

…a few planning opportunities. Tax Provisions Which May Impact Planning Opportunities ■ Medicare surtax. ■ Long term capital gains tax rate rising. ■ Federal estate tax exemption decreasing and rates…

Adding Beneficiaries to an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust

- By : Parag Patel

…her estate and could be used to completely provide funds to pay any estate tax liability. Many of our estate planning clients have an additional issue to be aware of…

IRS Announces Increased 2023 Gift Tax Annual Exclusion, Gift, and Estate Tax Exemptions

- By : Parag Patel

…gift and estate tax exemption available to each individual taxpayer will increase substantially: from $12.06 million in 2022 to $12.92 million in 2023. The combined gift and estate tax exemption…

Laws May Cause Issues for Owners In Civil Unions

- By : Parag Patel

…at the state and federal levels have some business owners who live with same-sex partners worried about how the conflict may affect their estate planning. Each member of a civil…

Navigating the Step-Up Tax Basis Rule

- By : Parag Patel

…included in mom or dad’s taxable estate for federal estate tax purposes. The full date of death value of mom or dad’s assets are generally part of their taxable estate,…

Non-Resident Estate Tax Trap

- By : Parag Patel

…U.S. stocks to estate tax. Similar rules apply to real estate holdings. The rules exempt the first US$60,000 of U.S.-based real estate or securities from tax. But if your worldwide…

HOW IS MY NJ ESTATE DISTRIBUTED WITHOUT A WILL IN NJ?

- By : Parag Patel

…25% of the estate, but not less than $50,000.00 nor more than $200,000.00, plus one-half of any balance of the estate. Your children take the balance equally. Grandchildren will take…

NJ Inheritance Tax

- By : Parag Patel

…– the sum value of the estate and the inheritor’s relationship to the deceased. In order to qualify for inheritance tax, generally, the sum value of the estate must exceed…

Buy-Sell Agreements

- By : Parag Patel

…sell agreement provides for an orderly disposition of business interests and is beneficial in setting the value for estate tax purposes. In General An Estate plan which is appropriate for…

The IRS publishes new proposed regulations for tax on transfers from covered expatriates

- By : Parag Patel

…taxable gifts by a covered expatriate and for taxable estates of a covered expatriate, i.e., property that is otherwise subject to U.S. gift or estate tax by the covered expatriate…

New Jersey to repeal estate tax

- By : Parag Patel

Last week, the New Jersey legislature announced its plan to repeal estate tax by January 2018. The New Jersey estate tax is presently one of the highest in the nation….

Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts

- By : Parag Patel

Estate tax planners have long employed intentionally defective grantor trusts to freeze the value of an asset for estate tax purposes while transferring assets out of the estate free of…

New Tax Planning Opportunities for High Income Individuals

- By : Parag Patel

…decreasing and rates rising. Planning Opportunities ■ Married individuals should consider establishing non-reciprocal Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATs) to protect assets from potential federal estate taxes if the federal estate

A great time for GRATs

- By : Parag Patel

estate-planning tool. As such, if a grantor were to establish a GRAT in January 2009, any appreciation in the trust assets over 2.4 percent would pass free of federal gift…

2007 Year-End Tax Planning Tips

- By : Parag Patel

…rental activities, the passive loss risk needs to be carefully assessed. Gift and estate taxes You can save gift and estate taxes by making gifts sheltered by the annual gift…

Watered-Down Build Back Better (BBB) For High-Income Taxpayers

- By : Parag Patel

estate tax exemption Removed Grantor trusts Changes to grantor trust rules that would have adversely impacted estate planning Removed Required minimum distributions from large IRAs At certain income thresholds with…

Problems with Joint Tenancy Property

- By : Parag Patel

Could joint tenancy, one of the most common forms of holding title to assets, lead to an estate planning disaster for your heirs? Joint tenancy, often called “joint tenants with…

Estate Tax in 2010

- By : Parag Patel

The federal estate tax, or “death tax” is in the news these days. This year (2010) there is no federal estate tax. It was repealed, but only for one year….

Mediating Probate Disputes

- By : Parag Patel

estate to Alice. A prior will that the mother executed before the father’s death gave the estate to the father, or if he predeceased the mother, divided the estate equally…

Charitable Planning Strategies High-Net-Worth Individuals Need to Know for Year-End Tax Planning

- By : Parag Patel

This year has a few charitable tax law changes unique to 2021. We have compiled our top charitable tax planning ideas you may want to consider implementing this year before…

Upcoming live video webinar: U.S.-India Tax Planning: Reporting Issues, Traps to Avoid, Tax Treaties, FTC, FACTA/FBAR Reporting, Passive Income

- By : Parag Patel

I am pleased to announce that I will be speaking in an upcoming Strafford live video webinar, “U.S.-India Tax Planning: Reporting Issues, Traps to Avoid, Tax Treaties, FTC, FACTA/FBAR Reporting,…

A Good Time To Review Estate Tax Plans: Decline in asset value prompts new strategies

- By : Parag Patel

…to review estate tax plans. Now is a particularly good time for business owners to think about estate tax planning. One such planning vehicle is a grantor trust—a way to…

Frequently Asked Probate Questions

- By : Parag Patel

…6) How many Surrogate certificates will I need?The certificates provide the authority of the estate’s executor to act. They are necessary to accomplish certain tasks such as transferring real estate,…

McCain & Obama’s Estate Tax Plans

- By : Parag Patel

…stability to the tax code by making the 2009 estate tax parameters permanent, exempting estates of up to $7 million for a married couple,” Mr. Furman says. The Obama plan…