Estate Planning

For most people, the durable power of attorney is the most important estate planning instrument available -- even more useful than a will. 

If you want to make a gift to family members but have exceeded the annual gifting limit, there is another way. Payments for a family member’s education or health care expenses are exempt from the gift tax. 

As life circumstances change (births, marriages, divorces, and deaths), it may become necessary to make changes to your will. 

All trusts should be reviewed every few years to make sure that they are up-to-date with the law and meet your current goals. Here is a checklist of trust features you can review yourself.

While a will is one of the most important estate planning documents you can have, there are things that it won’t cover. A will is just one part of a comprehensive estate plan. 

Congress sets the amount that an individual can transfer tax-free either during life or at death. The current estate tax exemption is so high that very few estates will have to pay an estate tax. 

While it remains unclear exactly what tax changes President Biden’s administration will usher in, two possibilities are that it will propose lowering the estate tax exemption and eliminating the stepped-up basis on death.