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Effective January 1, 2014, the unified federal gift and estate tax exemption was increased to $5.34 million dollars. What this change means is that an individual can now give up to $5.34 million during their lifetime, or pass away with an estate valued up to $5.34 million dollars, without paying any Federal gift or estate […]

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The law created a chance for wealthy families to move assets out of their estates and let their heirs benefit from any appreciation in value, said Lisa Featherngill, a managing director at Abbot Downing, a wealth-management unit of Wells Fargo & Co. According to official numbers recently released by the IRS, U.S. taxpayers transferred $122 […]

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There are steps that residents of states with steep estate taxes can take–short of moving–to help minimize such bills or avoid them altogether. Although the Federal government may cast a big shadow in terms of estate taxes, don’t forget those state laws lurking in the shadows. If you are building your estate plan, be sure […]

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Starting in 2014 … the basic exclusion will go up to $5.34 million per person, from $5.25 million this year. [However,] there will be no change in the annual exclusion, which allows you to give $14,000 in cash or other assets each year to each of as many individuals as you want without dipping into the […]