Estate taxes have been less and less of a concern due to the steadily increasing exemption, which is currently $11.4 million per individual and $22.8 million for a married couple. However, that all may be changing for California residents come 2021. A new Senate Bill, SB 378 (Scott Wiener), will propose a separate state estate tax for California residents with estates above $3.5 million, as explained in the LA Times Article “California voters could be asked to impose an estat

Estate planning attorneys advise meeting about how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act could affect your taxes. If you haven’t had a talk with your estate planning attorney since before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) went into effect in 2018, now would be a good time to do so, says The Kansas City Star in the article “Talk to estate attorney about impacts of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.” While most of the news about the act centered on the increased exemptions for estate taxes, there are a

As part of an overall estate planning strategy, says JD Supra in the article “Estate Planning: The Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust,” an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust, or ILIT, can be used to take the life insurance proceeds out of a donor’s taxable estate (in other words, making them not subject to federal or state estate tax). But there’s one catch: the donor (the owner of the policy) must live for three years after the policy is transferred to the trust in order for the

Estate planning is fairly easy to do. That said, it is also very easy not to do (as evidenced by the statistics on the subject). Therefore, it is helpful to understand the reasons why putting together your estate plan is so important.  Awareness of the importance of estate planning can help propel you into action. Investopedia’s recent article, “4 Reasons Estate Planning Is So Important,” says you should consider the following four reasons why you should have an estate plan.

Trusts are often associated with the very wealthy, who want to pass on their wealth to future heirs. However, there are many good reasons to set up a trust, even if you aren’t “rich.” In general, I recommend trusts for my clients when any one of the following factors are present: The client owns any real estate; The client has over $150,000 in cash or stock; The client owns a business or has interests in a business; The client is in a blended family situation; or The client v

I’m a huge believer in life insurance. For me personally, being properly insured is a top priority, and I suggest the same to many of my clients, particularly those who don’t have an abundance of liquid assets available or who simply value certainty. I have several farming clients in the Central Valley.  For their families, they often use life insurance to help with the transition from one farming generation to another. If this move is done correctly with life insurance, it p