{"id":91,"date":"2011-09-15T16:45:33","date_gmt":"2011-09-15T16:45:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.estatetrustlawyer.com\/blog\/?p=91"},"modified":"2023-02-01T14:27:58","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T14:27:58","slug":"some-tax-saving-strategies-from-the-wall-street-journal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.estatetrustlawyer.com\/blog\/some-tax-saving-strategies-from-the-wall-street-journal\/","title":{"rendered":"Some Tax Saving Strategies from the Wall Street Journal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Income, estate, and other federal tax levies have commonly been a bone of contention between those with different political ideologies; but the current conflict has reached unusual heights, with various million- and billionaires publicly expressing their views (pro or against) about current tax laws. Of course, million- or billionaires aren\u2019t the only ones with strong opinions about taxes.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If you feel that you pay too much in taxes, Brett Arends of the Wall Street Journal has some tips to help you save on taxes in the future<\/a>. Much of his article is tongue-in-cheek, but the suggestions are valuable ones. Of special interest to our firm and our clients are four of the tips nestled in the middle of the article:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Give to your family.<\/strong> \u201cUntil the end of 2012 you can give $5 million, tax-free… In addition you can give $13,000 a year to each recipient — each child or grandchild — and a spouse can do the same. So a married couple with, say, three children and eight grandchildren can give another $286,000 a year, on top of that one-off $10 million. Over ten or twenty years that really adds up.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Put your grandkids\u2014and great grandkids\u2014through college. \u201c<\/strong>Money paid directly to schools or colleges escapes estate taxes.\u201d Furthermore, if you contribute to a 529 educational savings account that money can be tucked away\u2014and eventually used by the student for whom it is intended\u2014tax free (so long as it is used for educational purposes.)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Buy life insurance.<\/strong> Proceeds from a life insurance policy can go to your beneficiaries tax-free upon your death, although you may have to make some arrangements ahead of time.\u00a0 The article states that \u201cTypically you put the policy in an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust… The premiums that you pay annually are gifts to the beneficiaries… And when you die, the proceeds of the policy go to the trust, for the beneficiaries, free of estate tax.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Talk to an estate planner.<\/strong> \u201cThere are other moves that can cut your estate tax, too. A Qualified Personal Residence Trust can slash the estate taxes on a residence. A Grantor Retained Annuity Trust, or GRAT, can slash them on an investment portfolio. So, too, can setting up a Family Limited Partnership. Financial planners say this is a great time to put investments — like stock — into a GRAT.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If you have questions about these tax-saving strategies, or other strategies that can help you preserve your estate for your heirs, please contact our office<\/a>. We can help you determine what your<\/em> best options are to help protect your assets\u2014and your family\u2014in the years to come.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Income, estate, and other federal tax levies have commonly been a bone of contention between those with different political ideologies; but the current conflict has reached unusual heights, with various million- and billionaires publicly expressing their views (pro or against) about current tax laws. Of course, million- or billionaires aren\u2019t the only ones with strong… Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-estate-planning","category-tax-planning-2"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t