[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/protect-your-estate-with-five-facts-white-plains-ny-greenwich-ct\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/protect-your-estate-with-five-facts-white-plains-ny-greenwich-ct\/","headline":"Protect Your Estate with Five Facts","name":"Protect Your Estate with Five Facts","description":"\u201cThe inheritance you leave could be eaten away by taxes or given to the wrong person. Here are five tips to avoid that.\u201d It is true that a single person who dies in 2020 could have up to $11.58 million in personal assets and their heirs would not have to pay any federal estate tax. […]","datePublished":"2020-11-03","dateModified":"2023-07-29","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/author\/amorusolaw\/#Person","name":"Amoruso & Amoruso, LLP","url":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/author\/amorusolaw\/","identifier":5,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/12de032c04195e9c39a06a6d6eea182f7b4fa655c20e245f8094a244b5cdd0cb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/12de032c04195e9c39a06a6d6eea182f7b4fa655c20e245f8094a244b5cdd0cb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Amoruso & Amoruso, LLP","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/amoruso-logo.svg","url":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/amoruso-logo.svg","width":0,"height":0}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/6a01901dd0a082970b026be41e31c3.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/6a01901dd0a082970b026be41e31c3.jpg","height":1600,"width":1067},"url":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/protect-your-estate-with-five-facts-white-plains-ny-greenwich-ct\/","about":["Beneficiary","Estate Planning","IRA","Irrevocable Trust","Probate","Roth IRA \/ Roth Conversions","Tax Planning","Will"],"wordCount":737,"keywords":["Beneficiary","Estate Planning","IRA","Irrevocable Trust","Probate","Roth Conversion","Tax Planning","Will"],"articleBody":"\u201cThe inheritance you leave could be eaten away by taxes or given to the wrong person. Here are five tips to avoid that.\u201dIt is true that a single person who dies in 2020 could have up to $11.58 million in personal assets and their heirs would not have to pay any federal estate tax. However, that doesn\u2019t mean that regular people don\u2019t need to worry about estate taxes\u2014their heirs might have to pay state estate taxes, inheritance taxes or the estate may shrink because of other tax issues. That\u2019s why U.S. News & World Report\u2019s recent article “5 Estate Planning Tips to Keep Your Money in the Family” is worth reading.Without proper planning, any number of factors could take a bite out of your children\u2019s inheritance. They may be responsible for paying federal income taxes on retirement accounts, for instance. You want to be sure that a lifetime of hard work and savings doesn\u2019t end up going to the wrong people.The best way to protect your family and your legacy is by meeting with an estate planning attorney and sorting through all of the complex issues of estate planning. Here are five areas you definitely need to address:Creating a last will and testamentChecking that beneficiaries are correctCreating a trustConverting traditional IRA accounts to Roth accountsGiving assets while you are livingA last will and testament. Only 32% of Americans have a will, according to a survey that asked 2,400 Americans that question. Of those who don\u2019t have a will, 30% says they don\u2019t think they have enough assets to warrant having a will. However, not having a will means that your entire estate goes through probate, which could become very expensive for your heirs. Having no will also makes it more likely that your family will challenge the distribution of assets. As a result, someone you may have never met could inherit your money and your home. It happens more often than you can imagine.Checking beneficiaries. Once you die, beneficiaries cannot be changed. That could mean an ex-spouse gets the proceeds of your life insurance policy, retirement funds or any other account that has a named beneficiary. Over time, relationships change\u2014make sure to check the beneficiaries named on any of your documents to ensure that your wishes are fulfilled. Your will does not control this distribution and is superseded by the named beneficiaries.Set up a trust. Trusts are used to accomplish different goals. If a child is unable to manage money, for instance, a trust can be created, a trustee named and the account funded. The trust will include specific directions as to when the child receives funds or if any benchmarks need to be met, like completing college or staying sober. With an irrevocable trust, the money is taken out of your estate and cannot be subject to estate taxes. Money in a trust does not pass through probate, which is another benefit.Convert traditional IRAs to Roth retirement accounts. When children inherit traditional IRAs, they come with many restrictions and heirs get the income tax liability of the IRA. Regular income tax must be paid on all distributions, and the account must be emptied within ten years of the owner\u2019s death, with limited exceptions. If the account balance is large, it could be consumed by taxes. By gradually converting traditional retirement accounts to Roth accounts, you pay the taxes as the accounts are converted. You want to do this in a controlled fashion, so as not to burden yourself. However, this means your heirs receive the accounts tax-free.Gift with warm hands, wisely. Perhaps the best way to ensure that money stays in the family, is to give it to heirs while you are living. As of 2020, you may gift up to $15,000 per person, per year in gifts. The money is tax free for recipients. Just be careful when gifting assets that appreciate in value, like stocks or a house. When appreciating assets are inherited, the heirs receive a step-up in basis, meaning that the taxable amount of the assets are adjusted upon death, so some assets should only be passed down after you are gone.Reference: U.S. News & World Report (Sep. 30, 2020) “5 Estate Planning Tips to Keep Your Money in the Family”For more information on asset preservation and estate planning, please visit my estate planning website."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Protect Your Estate with Five Facts","item":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/protect-your-estate-with-five-facts-white-plains-ny-greenwich-ct\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]