If you have minor children, this fact should be reason enough to have a will. While a court will not absolutely be bound to appoint the guardian that you have named in the will, your wishes normally ... |
If you die without a will, the probate court will appoint a person, called an administrator, who will act as a fiduciary to collect your assets and pay ... |
Your will should provide your executor with the authority to pay your family amounts needed for support during the period of estate administration. Although ... |
Sometimes the main function of a will is to give your executor the authority to collect your assets and cause them to be distributed to a trust that you have set up to receive them. This type of will ... |
The question of what to do about your business comes down to two main choices: |
In order to pass on your wealth to your chosen beneficiaries at death, in addition to probate and other estate settlement costs, you (or more correctly, your estate) may have to pay death taxes at ... |
If qualified family-owned business interests (QFOBIs) make up more than 50 percent of your taxable estate, you may benefit from a special provision that can increase your total effective exemption ... |
For purposes of the federal transfer tax, you can — during your lifetime, or at death — give an unlimited amount of wealth to your spouse tax-free. This can be a great advantage, but ... |
A gift of property or money to a qualified charity is fully deductible against the gift tax (if made by the donor during lifetime) or against the estate tax (if made after death). By themselves, each ... |
While the estate and gift tax marital deductions apply only to the value of property transferred to your spouse, as a result of something called the "unified credit," a total of up to $1.5 million ... |
