• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

Duffy Law Office, PLLC

Helping Families Preserve Their Wealth

  • Home
  • Our Firm
    • About Our Firm
    • About The American Academy
    • Advantages of Working With Our Firm
    • Attorney and Staff Profiles
    • Speaker Connection
  • Services
    • Asset Protection & Business Planning
    • Elder Law & Medicaid Services
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Estate Planning Services
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Financial Planning Assistance
    • Incapacity Planning
    • IRA & Retirement Planning
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Trust Administration & Probate
  • Reports
    • Advanced Estate Planning
    • Basic Estate Planning
    • Estate Planning For Niches
    • Trust Administration
  • Resources
    • Client Resources
    • Consumer Resources
    • Published Books
  • BLOG
  • Contact Us
  • (563) 445-7400
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Return of the Estate Tax

Dennis D. Duffy · Dec 13, 2010 ·

The estate tax is probably coming back for 2011, but as it stands, it shouldnt affect most people. The current proposal is a 35 percent tax on estates of more than $5 million. Generally, estates are worth much less than this amount. So if you are like most people, the return of the estate tax is nothing for you to worry about.

On the other hand, if you are concerned that your estate might come close to this when you combine investment such as stocks, bonds and property you own, you need to take steps to alleviate the overall tax bill of your estate. Otherwise, the total value of your estate could drop when taxes are applied.

Think about passing property to your heirs before you pass away. This has the same effect of simply giving a gift to someone. The gift passes to your heir without going through the probate court. Giving estate gifts away before you pass away also has the effect of making your bequests perfectly clear. This can save relatives or friends from in-fighting over promised bequests. Your intentions are understood if you give the gift before you pass away.

Also consider setting up trusts in your estate plan to reduce the overall size of your estate. This process requires an attorney to draw up the trust documents and this can be an expensive process, but once your have the trust set up, you pass ownership of the asset to the trust and the asset remains with you until you pass away. If you choose a trust and want to maintain control of the money, set up a revocable trust.

The reestablishment of the estate tax doesnt have to be an expensive tax if you plan ahead and reduce the size of your estate through alternative methods to pass assets to your heirs. Give our office a call today to discuss all your estate planning options.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Dennis D. Duffy
Latest posts by Dennis D. Duffy (see all)
  • Attorneys Want to Help - December 14, 2016
  • Trusts and the Estate Tax - December 14, 2016
  • What Is a Third Party Special Needs Trust? - December 14, 2016

Estate Planning, Taxes, Trusts 2011 estate tax law, 2011 estate tax liability, Estate Planning, estate tax

Blog Subscription

Where we are

Duffy Law Office, PLLC
1840 E 54th St
Davenport, IA 52807
United States (US)
Phone: (563) 445-7400

Opening hours

Monday8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Tuesday8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Wednesday8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Thursday8:30 AM - 4:30 PM

Map

duffy_hmpg_map.png

© 2023 · American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc. | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Sitemap | Contact Us