When the TCJA was passed, the big estate planning news was that the federal gift and estate tax exclusion doubled from $5 million to an inflation-indexed $10 million. It was further indexed for inflation to $11.18 million for 2018 and now $11.4 million for 2019. Somewhat lost in the clamor, however, was (and is) the [...]
A long-term care insurance policy supplements your traditional health insurance by covering services that assist you or a loved one with one or more activities of daily living. Such activities include eating, bathing, dressing, toileting and transferring (in and out of bed, for example). Long-term care coverage is relatively expensive, but it may be possible [...]
If your estate plan includes one or more trusts, review them before you file your tax return. Or, if you’ve already file it, look carefully at how your trusts were affected. Income taxes often take an unexpected bite out of these asset-protection vehicles. 3 WAYS TO SOFTEN THE BLOW For trusts, there are income thresholds [...]
As the 2018 tax-filing season heats up, investors have much to consider. Whether you structured your portfolio to emphasize income over growth – or vice versa, or perhaps a balance of the two – will have a substantial impact on your tax liability. Let’s take a look at a couple of the most significant “big [...]
Many people start the year intending to get out of debt, yet end the year owing just as much, if not more. One approach that might yield success is called “throwing snowballs.” Under this method, you organize your debts from the lowest balance to the highest balance and begin paying off the debt on top [...]
Contrary to popular belief, there’s nothing in the U.S. Constitution or federal law that prohibits multiple states from collecting tax on the same income. Although many states provide tax credits to prevent double taxation, those credits are sometimes unavailable. If you maintain residences in more than one state, here are some points to keep in [...]
