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.
It’s “Date Night” Saturday…the kids are going to kids’ night out and you’ve got four hours to yourselves to reconnect and be in love again. Just the two of you.
You’ve lined up a sitter.
You left money for the pizza delivery guy and a list of contact numbers on the refrigerator door, right under the magnet you bought in Yosemite last summer.
You’ve got everything taken care of.
Except what happens to your children if the unthinkable happens and you never make it back home?
When we had our first son, my ex-husband and I were vaguely aware that we should name a guardian for our baby if something happened to us. But in the weeks and months following his birth, I was too busy learning to be a mother to worry about a legal document. At the time, too, my son and I were attached…at the breast. There was no way he was going to be out of my sight for any length of time, I reasoned, and if something happened to me, it would happen to him too and, well, we’d both be gone.
It wasn’t until our son was nearing three years old and in pre-school a couple of hours a week, and a new baby was in my arms, that I felt a more pressing need to make sure he was cared for if I weren’t there. At the time, my ex-husband began to feel worried
Our experience with Martha far exceeded our expectations. We really appreciated the visuals Martha used to help us understand our options."
Martha exceeded all our expectations. She was warm, caring, and knowledgeable."
If you do not have legal guardians named for your children and something happens to you, a Judge will decide who raises your kids. Take matters into your own hands today.