Sharon Ravenscroft Estate Planning Blog

Whether living in the metro Phoenix area or the Sun City Peoria area, most of my clients are interested in the following highlights: All the individual "Bush era" tax rates are retained with the addition of a new top rate of 39.6% imposed on income over $450,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly or $400,000 for single taxpayers. The capital gain...

President Obama's current proposal in his budget is a permanent the estate, and gift tax parameters as they applied during 2009. The top tax rate would be 45 percent and the exclusion amount would be $3.5 million for estate and $1 million for gift taxes. As reflected in the Administration’s adjusted baseline projection, the portability of unused es...

If you are ill, incapacitated or die, you will want your financial agent or Personal Representative to have use of your passwords and account information. Be sure to keep them in a safe place that can be found by the ones you trust. Placing a list with your notebook of estate planning documents is just one good idea.

If you are ill or incapacitated or die, you will want your financial agent or

For those whose spouse died in 2010, if the deceased's estate did not use all of the $5 million exemption, then the remainder can carry over to the surviving spouse. So if the deceased spouse's share of the estate was worth $2 million, then the unused estate tax exemption of $3 million can be used by the surviving spouse and added to the surviving ...

There is estate tax is now unified with the gift tax-- $5 million per person. However, it applies only for 2011 and 2012. Couples need to keep their option to have an an irrevocable trust when the first spouse dies, just in case Congress does not extend the unified credit and the $1 million exclusion from 2002 comes back. For the estate of anyone w...

For 2011 and 2012, the estate tax exclusion will be $5 million per person and $10 million per couple. It appears that the new law also allows for the exemption to apply to anyone who died in 2010 if the estate wants to have the step up in basis. It appears also that one spouse can use another spouses exemption to some extent in a portability provis...

Mention this blog or my Facebook page and receive 10% discount on fees related to the preparation of estate planning documents. Good through August 31, 2010.

I heard that someone kept their loved one alive through January 2 on machines just to take advantage that there is no estate tax law this year. Unfortunately, there also is no step-up in basis at death and so that family could be facing a very high capital gains tax. This was not a concern when there was an estate tax because there also was a step-...

Currently, there is no federal estate tax, but that does not mean there is no taxation at death. Instead, right now there is a capital gains tax that can be levied on any assets over $1.3 million (or $3 million for a spouse). Congress has been struggling with trying to adopt a law which will put the $3.5 million estate tax exclusion back in place--...