Certain areas of the law are more complicated than others. The tax law is one of the more complex ones. That’s one of the many reasons why estate planning requires the help of a professional, especially when it comes to transferring wealth to the next generation.
The experienced and skillful legal counsel of a knowledgeable estate planning and tax attorney can make the difference between an estate that is smoothly managed and a disaster that takes years and significant costs to untangle.
Axcess News recently published an article, “The Very Real Dangers Of Doing Your Own Estate Planning” that details the major issues that people experience when they try to do this type of thing on their own.
Read MoreHow Can a Roth IRA Reduce the Tax Burden Facing Your Heirs?
If you’re interested in reducing the taxes your heirs will have to pay, you’re probably concerned about the discussion about tax reform going on in Washington these days. Unfortunately, there’s no way to be certain what, if any, changes will actually occur. In the meantime, your estate planning attorney can help you structure your estate, so that less of it ends up being consumed by taxes. That includes moving funds into non-taxable accounts, including Roth IRAs.
Motley Fool’s recent article, “A Clever Way to Cut Your Heirs’ Income Taxes,” says the money you put into a Roth retirement savings account has already been taxed. It was taxed on the contributions you made or as a rollover from a tax-deferred retirement savings account. As a result, everything in that account is now non-taxable for income-tax purposes. As the Roth has been open for at least five years prior to your death, the money in that account won’t be subject to federal income taxes.
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