In recent years, Congress hasn’t made estate planning any easier with its ping-pong approach to the estate tax.
The first — and most vexing — thing you need to know is that federal estate tax rates are slated to change again in 2022, unless Congress decides otherwise. That’s little comfort for estate planners, who in recent years have been whipsawed by a federal rate that changed annually, going to zero in 2010 and then moving upward again this year. Take the time to review your options before estate tax rates change in 2022.
Yet there’s much you can do to streamline one of the most difficult financial planning decisions of your life. If you break things down into pieces, estate planning becomes a lot less intimidating.
The good news is that until Jan. 1, 2022, the amount of your estate exempted from federal tax is $5 million for individuals, $10 million for couples. You can also make up to $5 million in gifts ($10 million per couple) before paying a gift tax. Who can say what will come with 2022? But at the very least you should start reviewing your options now to determine the best tax strategy for you.
Here are some essentials to consider:
- Professional advice. Find a qualified estate planning professional who will listen to you and craft a plan that works for you and your family. That’s the best assurance that your intentions will be honored.
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- Health care power of attorney. Before you make the big decisions about who will get your estate, you need to make other choices about who will represent your interests with the doctors if you become incapacitated. You do this with a health care power of attorney. You also need a living will, which tells medical staff what to do in the event you’re placed on life support.
- Financial power of attorney. This document is similar to a health care power of attorney, only it appoints someone to handle your financial affairs. This person should not only be trustworthy, but also understand something about finance or investing. This document may also be called a “property” power of attorney.
- Wills and trusts. Wills are essential, simple documents that everyone should have. Trusts can be drafted in addition to wills and serve more complex estate-planning needs. Property and other assets can be placed in the trust to shield them from taxes and from probate, the lengthy and expensive court process by which wills are executed. Instead, a trustee is appointed to manage the trust. That will simplify things once you or your spouse die.
- Gifts that can reduce your estate. Although the gift-tax exemption may change in 2022, couples can for now give away up to $10 million without paying federal gift tax. Talk to your estate planner about how gifts might reduce the value of your estate, and therefore the tax paid on it.”This is for extra money you don’t need to live on,” says Rial Moulton, an attorney and financial planner with Retirement and Tax Planning Specialists in Spokane, Wash. “Now is a window of opportunity to get chunks of assets out of your estate.”