“Probate is a lawsuit you file against yourself after you die for the benefit of your creditors.”
Author Archives: Martha Hartney
The Down Low on the New Tax Law and Your Estate Plan
Tax laws are confusing on a good day–what you can deduct, what you can claim–And with all the recent changes to the laws, it’s almost impossible to know if you’re doing the right thing. Hopefully, this will help. Here’s the straight scoop on how the new tax law affects your estate plan: A Quick and Dirty […]
Protecting Your Child’s Identity
The Tax That Just Won’t Die
With all the talk about the future of the Bush tax cuts, one aspect of taxation that isn’t getting quite as much press is the reappearance of the estate tax.
As of January 1, 2011, the estate tax will once again rear its ugly head and take a serious bite out of your estate assets when it does.
If your estate is valued at $1 million or more (for individuals, not married couples), your loved ones could be hit with a tax bill of 55%.
Here’s a quick and dirty list of things to seriously think about before January 1st:
1. Don’t Count On Congress.
The issue of the estate tax may not be resolved any time soon. The Bush tax-cut extension is such a hot button issue and is generating so much press, no one is sure what will result from it. An increase of the estate tax exemption to $5 million is included in the Obama tax plan, but the House and Senate would both have to agree to it for that to become law. The end of the year is only about 3 weeks away and there’s still a lot of squabbling on Capitol Hill about this issue.
New Year’s Resolutions For Your Portfolio
We all make New Year’s resolutions… Losing weight… Spending more time with family… Learning a new language… Few of us think of our investment portfolio in terms of resolutions. But we should. This is a great time to sit down and really look at how your investments have done this year and plan for the […]
