When practitioners and clients think of estate planning, several goals typically come to mind: (1) identifying family members and charitable organizations to whom or for whose benefit assets are to be given; (2) ensuring that assets intended for family members are preserved and protected from creditors, the government, bad influences, or even themselves; and (3) minimizing taxes while transferring wealth to lower generation family members. With regard to transferring wealth and minimizing taxes, "transfer taxes"—i.e., estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxes—are often thought of first. Income taxes, however, can often be minimized as well through careful planning, particularly with regard to structuring charitable gifts.
Read the full article, "Low Interest Rate Is High Time for Some Estate Planning Ideas."
Republished with permission. "Low Interest Rate Is High Time for Some Estate Planning Ideas," Bradley W. Lard, Estate Planning (the "Journal), Vol 42 / No 7 Copyright© 2015.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.