Estate Tax Planning in Westerville, Ohio
Your legacy is more than just the assets you’ve accumulated—it’s the future you envision for your loved ones. However, estate taxes can significantly impact the wealth you pass on. Don’t let your hard work be diminished by excessive taxation. The Jarvis Law Office offers professional estate tax planning services, designed to help you minimize your tax burden and maximize the inheritance you leave behind.
Contact our Westerville estate planning lawyer today for a free consultation. After reviewing your case, the attorney will develop a custom estate planning strategy to help you hold onto your assets.
Estate Tax Planning Strategies
Our Westerville, Ohio, estate tax planning lawyer utilizes numerous estate planning tools and strategies to reduce your tax burden, secure your business interests, and protect your family’s future. These strategies include:
- Charitable trusts
- Irrevocable Trusts
- Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts
- Life insurance trusts
- Gifting
- Re-titling assets
- Grantor-retained annuity trusts
- Qualified personal residence trusts
Your estate plan will protect you today and in the future. Contact our estate planning attorney today for more information on how you can enjoy estate-related tax benefits.
The Hidden Wealth Threat: Will 40% of Your Assets Vanish?
Federal estate taxes may not be on most Americans’ minds, but for some families, they’re a looming threat. Proactive planning is key to ensuring your hard-earned wealth reaches the next generation. If you’re troubled by the possibility of losing 40% of your assets to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other government entities, now is the time to take action.
Effective methods exist to reduce or eliminate this substantial tax liability, but many need time to reach their full potential. Don’t wait to secure your family’s financial future.
Gifting Wisely: A Potent Strategy to Reduce Estate Taxes
With their comprehensive understanding of tax laws, our Westerville estate tax planning lawyers can help you craft a savvy gifting strategy. The annual exclusion serves as a powerful tool to shrink your taxable estate. For 2021, the limit is set at $15,000 per individual yearly. You could, for instance, gift $15,000 in bonds to one child and $15,000 in artwork to another, staying within the annual limit. When it comes to larger gifts, your attorney can provide guidance on spreading them across multiple years to avoid tax ramifications.
Your attorney might also advise gifting to your spouse as part of an asset protection planning strategy. You can gift up to $159,000 a year if your spouse isn’t a United States citizen. Otherwise, there is not a limit on tax-free gifts to spouses. While gifting to your spouse doesn’t always make sense, it is a sound legal strategy in some cases. Thus, consult with your attorney to see if it is a wise strategy for you.
Irrevocable Trusts: A Strategic Approach to Wealth Preservation
Consider irrevocable trusts as another tool to extract assets from your estate. You’ll appoint a trustee to manage the trust, giving them full control over all decisions. Once property is placed in the trust, it’s removed from your estate and protected from estate taxes. Following your passing, your chosen beneficiaries will receive the trust’s contents.
For those with substantial assets, an irrevocable trust could be a wise financial move. Seek guidance from our Westerville estate tax planning lawyer to understand the advantages of this trust type. If it aligns with your goals, our attorney can handle the trust’s setup for you.
SLATs: A Smart Move for High-Net-Worth Couples
Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATs) fall under the category of irrevocable trusts, which have limited flexibility once established. These trusts enable spouses to make gifts to each other during their lifetimes, maximizing the use of their individual lifetime gift-tax exclusions. This strategy is particularly advantageous for couples with assets exceeding $12.06 million in 2022. By transferring assets to a SLAT, couples can effectively remove these funds from their taxable estate, minimizing their exposure to federal estate taxes. This approach can significantly lower the estate tax burden upon the death of the second spouse.
The current Federal Estate Tax rules will “sunset” in 2025. If nothing changes by then, the new Federal Estate Tax limit will drop to about $6.2 million per person or about half the current amount allowed to be passed on free from estate tax.
Be The Early Bird with Your Estate Tax Planning
Starting estate tax planning early is a smart move. The federal government examines estate transfers occurring in the three-year period before death. These transactions may incur posthumous taxes. Therefore, implementing thoughtful strategies now can lead to considerable monetary advantages for your estate and heirs.
