Estate Planning Resources

As you know, Congress has been considering tax reform over the last several months. Until recently, it was unclear whether any of the wide-ranging proposals would gain enough traction to become law. Last week, however, the House Ways and Means Committee released a much-publicized tax bill (the "Bill") that, if enacted, would drastically alter current Federal estate and gift tax laws and eliminate the use of certain common estate planning strategies. Background. While the Bill is just a propos ...
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In the past, the amount that a person could transfer exempt from the estate tax at his or her death was fairly steady for many years. Starting around 2002, the exemption started increasing at a faster rate, going to $5 million in 2011 and then doubling in 2018. The exemption amount currently sits at $11.58 million per person and is slated to go to $11.7 million in 2021. The exemption has never been reduced in the history of the tax, although we came close a couple of times (remember the “fi ...
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Distribution Planning for Retirement Benefits: The Legal and Tax Implications of Lifetime and Post-Death Qualified Plan and IRA Distributions (PDF)

Breaking Up is Hard To Do (But It Might Be Easier with a Prenup) (PDF)

Estate Planning for Digital Assets - Is It Really Necessary? (PDF)

Most married couples want to leave the majority, if not all, of their assets, either outright or through a trust, to their spouse.  But situations often come up, particularly in second marriage situations, where a client wants to leave most or all of their assets to children from a prior marriage or other individuals rather than their current spouse.  North Carolina is one of many states where you cannot disinherit your spouse (absent a premarital agreement -- more on that in a minute).  In f ...
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Estate Planning for Digital Assets: A Web of Uncertainty (PDF)