IRS Sets Tax Filing Extension at 5 Months for Partnership, Estate and Trust Returns

IRS Sets Tax Filing Extension at 5 Months for Partnership, Estate and Trust Returns - AccountingToday.com

president obama budget proposal estate planning

Change is on the Way: President Obama’s proposals for estate planning in 2013 and beyond - WEALTH WATCH - Trusts & Estates Magazine (JEH: The current administration's proposals make planning during 2011 and 2012 even more important. The current $5 million gift tax exemption, which is the highest in history (except during times when these federal transfer taxes did not exist), would be decreased to the $1 million exemption under the 2001 tax act. The estate and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemption, which are also currently $5 million, would return to their $3.5 million levels under the 2001 tax act. In addition, the proposals suggest a 90 year "term limit" on trusts designed to optimize these exemptions (essentially a tax-oriented version of the rule against perpetuities) in order to limit their effectiveness (which of course means taxing those assets more often as they pass from one generation to the next). Consequently, planning to utilize the current exemption is critical for anyone whose assets would exceed the revised exemptions, including those whose assets would appreciate beyond those limits. With the possibility of future inflation, that might be more folks than anyone thinks now.)

FT.com / Tax - Private clients look to pass wealth down the generations

Private clients look to pass wealth down the generations - FT.com / Tax

IRS’s Mistakes Cause Headaches for Some Nonprofits - Tax Watch - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

IRS’s Mistakes Cause Headaches for Some Nonprofits - Tax Watch - The Chronicle of Philanthropy

IRS Issues Guidance for Charities – and a Warning to Donors - Kelly Phillips Erb - Taxgirl - Forbes

IRS Issues Guidance for Charities – and a Warning to Donors - Kelly Phillips Erb - Taxgirl - Forbes

GOP softening its position on estate tax - NYPOST.com

GOP softening its position on estate tax - NYPOST.com

Resources on general estate planning information

Clients and even other advisors often ask where to find resources on general estate planning information, such as the differences between wills and revocable living trusts or the basic steps of the probate process. The Internet is a wonderful tool, but can also be overwhelming and does not necessarily deliver the most useful information at the top of your search results. Following are several of my favorite resources on fundamental estate planning issues and questions.

First, The Florida Bar's consumer pamphlets on estate planning are excellent. Unfortunately the website's auto-generated links are terribly long. Here is the link to the relevant pamphlets on wills, trusts, and estates, or you may use this much simpler shortcut link: http://tinyurl.com/FlaBarPamphlets.

For example, the pamphlet on "The Revocable Trust in Florida" discusses some of the common myths regarding these topics. For instance, all assets are not subject to probate after someone passes away. It also covers "Do I benefit by avoiding probate?" and cites the general example of a multi-jurisdictional probate situation -- where someone owns real property in multiple states -- as one illustration of the proper use of a revocable trust.

The Florida Bar's website contains a vast amount of additional resources. In another blog post, I mentioned the Florida Bar Journal, the archives of which are available for more than ten years. You may also view any Florida lawyer's profile via the "Find a Lawyer" online directory.

Second, the American Bar Association's Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law website, which was recently redesigned along with the rest of the ABA website, also offers numerous resources from basic to very advanced information (including complete continuing legal education materials from previous programs). The "Estate Planning [Frequently Asked Questions" pages cover many basic estate planning and probate/trust administration issues.

The third favorite is CCH's excellent "Financial Planning Toolkit." I have praised this site and CCH's companion "Business Owner's Toolkit" for years. Each features an expandable "tree" of information on relevant topics. An entire portion of the Financial Planning Toolkit is devoted to estate planning, which explains basic and more advanced concepts and techniques to achieve a person's planning goals.

I hope that others find these resources useful. Everyone should of course consult their own professional advisors in their own state to determine how to implement planning that achieves their specific goals based on their circumstances. Being informed with accurate general information should help to facilitate the planning process, though.