Some methods of avoiding probate can cost your heirs tens of thousands of dollars if you don’t take into account the tax savings available through using the step-up in basis. Step-up in basis is tax terminology that many people know about, but don’t understand in the context
Unified taxes are a very important concept to understand when structuring your estate plan. The concept of unified taxes is really pretty easy, but most people don’t know how it works. Federal estate taxes and federal gift taxes are definitely two different taxes, but they are “unified.”
The “Children’s Trust” used for estate planning is also known as a 2503(c) Trust. In the latter half of the 20th Century, these irrevocable trusts were the workhorse of estate planners dealing with larger estates. The object was to move assets out of the large estate, where they
A self-settled trust is an irrevocable trust that is established by an individual (settlor) where the individual is also the beneficiary of the trust. Irrevocable trusts offer great asset protection because the assets are held and controlled by the trust, and therefore considered out of the reach
