October 2021
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How to Begin the Estate Planning Process
Estate planning is an essential process that everyone should consider. Due to the uncertainty of tomorrow, it’s important to start planning for the future now. Unfortunately, many people are under the impression that estate planning is something reserved for the wealthy or those who have many assets. This simply isn’t true, as everyone needs to have a plan in place to legally distribute their assets after they’re gone. What’s more, estate planning isn’t just for people with children. Whether you have children or not, you must think about what you want to happen to your pets, personal belongings, money, property, and so on. So while it’s true that some people will have estate plans that are more complex than others, they all follow the same principle of dispersing property to others.
What’s Included in Estate Planning?
Estate planning isn’t limited to property and money. On the contrary, there is any number of aspects to consider for your estate plan, such as:

  1. Designation of beneficiaries
  2. Directions for guardianship
  3. Medical power of attorney
  4. Transfer of Accounts
  5. Power of Attorney
  6. Transfer of Deeds
  7. Care of a pet
  8. Living will
  9. Trust
To begin, make a list of everything you own and everything you owe. Included with your personal inventory should be copies of essential documents that reflect your assets and debts.

Estate plans let you determine what happens to your assets in the event that you pass away. Yet it can also serve to establish what happens in the event that you become incapacitated for a time. As such, those you name would be able to act on your behalf without having to go through a court of law. Therefore, it’s important to secure a backup plan outside of death. If you are hospitalized or ill for any reason and you can’t address your responsibilities, a loved one can do so for you. One of the main reasons people secure estate plans is to ensure the care and protection of children and dependents. As such, you want to make sure that there are provisions in place that detail their care. Moreover, you’ll want to provide details about anyone you remarry to ensure that your assets don’t automatically go to someone outside of your wishes.

As you can see, what might be in your estate plan reaches far beyond simple personal assets. This is why it’s so important to secure the services of a qualified Estate Planning attorney in Florida.
In The News
Proposed Legislation That Could Affect Your Estate Plan
On September 13, 2021, the House Ways and Means Committee release a proposal for new tax changes that may impact longstanding estate planning strategies. Here is a brief outline of some of the proposed tax changes:
  • Increase in the top marginal individual income tax rate to 39.6% from 37%, which applies to married individuals filing jointly with taxable income over $450,000, and single earners over $400,000. It also applies to estates and trusts with taxable income over $12,500.
  • Increase in Capital Gains Rate for "certain high income individuals" from 20% to 25%.
  • The estate and gift tax exemptions would be reduced to $5 million down from the current $11.7 million per person. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 had put in place a $10 million per person base exemption amount through 2025. The effective date of the lower exemption would be for gifts and deaths after December 31, 2021.
  • The ability to use irrevocable trusts, such as Grantor Trusts, as a gifting vehicle to hold monies for spouses, children and grandchildren may be greatly impacted by the legislation. This provision would pull the trust assets back into the decedent's taxable estate. The amendments would apply only to future trusts and future transfers.
  • New contribution limits for individual retirement plans (IRAs) for taxpayers whose aggregate IRA balance exceed $10 million in the prior tax year. The limit on contributions would only apply to single taxpayers (or taxpayers married filing separately) with taxable income over $400,000 and married taxpayers filing jointly with taxable income over $450,000.
  • Increase in minimum required distributions to 50% of the amount over $10 million for high-income taxpayers with IRA balances that exceed $10 million at the end of the taxable year.
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