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ESTATE PLANNING—Part 2 TAXES

Last month’s Captain’s Table piece, was the first installment in a three-part series on estate planning. Estate planning is the “most overlooked, misunderstood and procrastinated piece” of the financial plan for most families, when it really shouldn’t be. Putting together a good estate plan is relatively straight-forward, especially with the help of an experienced attorney, and is not as costly, complex or time-consuming as you might think.

In Part one, we discussed the will and the trust. We discussed why the will is the foundation of any estate plan and how a trust can be a flexible, efficient and an inexpensive tool that complements the will, and can also helps keep matters private and outside of the public record. In this installment, we’ll focus on the history of the estate and gift tax system and how present laws impact bequests made while living and at death.

WHY IS YEAR-END TAX PLANNING AND PREPARATION IMPORTANT?

Many of the items we are going to discuss require action   before year-end, and definitely before you or your tax preparer begin to compile your tax return for 2014. While taxes are inevitable, assuming you have taxable income, with proper tax planning you can maximize your potential for tax savings.