Elder Law and Estate Planning provided to West Bridgewater, MA

Elder Law and Estate Planning services are offered to the residents of West Bridgewater, MA and surrounding areas.

Easton, United States – September 1, 2018 /PressCable/ —

The author Brigitte von Weiss of VON WEISS LAW OFFICE is an estate planning and elder law attorney in Easton, MA. She is often asked about common estate planning errors.

A common estate planning error is failing to consider an annual gifting program to reduce the federal and Massachusetts estate tax liabilities and reduce the amount of assets potentially subject to one’s and one’s spouse’s long-term-care needs.

An annual gifting program basically is a plan to make annual gifts to family members up to the amount of the federal gift tax exclusion, which currently is $15,000 (2018).

Historically, the reason for not making larger gifts is that lifetime gifts that exceed the amount of the federal gift tax exclusion ($15,000 in 2018) reduce (dollar for dollar) one’s estate tax exemption available at death. One’s estate tax exemption is the total amount that one can leave at death to the next generation without incurring an estate tax liability.

For example, together John and Mary have $1.46 million. Assuming their assets neither appreciate nor depreciate in value, the surviving spouse’s estate will have a Massachusetts estate tax liability unless they fund the first-to-die’s trust with estate tax provisions with at least $460,001 or they reduce their assets by spending or gifting at least $460,001.

Each year John and Mary each can give $15,000 to their four children. The total is $120,000 ($15,000 times 2 times 4). Each year John and Mary also each can give $15,000 to their children’s spouses. Now the total is $240,000. If John and Mary continue their annual gifting program to their children and their children’s spouses for two consecutive years, they have reduced their assets by $480,000 and thereby reduced their combined assets to below $1 million, resulting in savings of $61,840 in Massachusetts estate taxes.

Everyone seems to know the rule about being able to gift away $10,000 ($15,000 in 2018) each year. However, few understand that gifting needs to be done at least five years prior to applying for MassHealth long-term-care benefits. If one is considering gifting primarily out of concern about needing nursing home care now or in the future, it is imperative that one consult an elder law attorney to provide guidance and supervise the gifting of assets. Please visit the web site for more information http://www.vonweisslaw.com/index.html

Nothing in this article should be considered legal advice as this is a complicated area of the law.

Contact Info:
Name: Brigitte von Weiss
Organization: The Von Weiss Law Office
Address: 50 Oliver Street, Easton, Massachusetts 02356, United States
Phone: +1-508-238-3005

For more information, please visit http://vonweisslaw.com/index.html

Source: PressCable

Release ID: 401715