One of the important goals of Tampa estate planning is to reduce taxes for yourself and for your heirs. If it has been more than a year since you reviewed your estate plan, schedule a review with Mortellaro Law. Changes in the tax code can impact your assets and affect how you should handle them, now and in the future.
New Administrations Can Bring Tax Changes
New administrations in the federal government can signal possible changes to the tax code, and these changes can be good or bad. The recent national elections likely could mean lower federal estate tax exemptions in the near future. Since the new administration has hinted at reversing many of the previous administration’s tax cuts, this may also mean a reduction in, or loss of, the income tax basis step-up at death, as well as capital gains on lifetime gifts and other estate planning options.
In addition, Americans could face higher income tax rates, higher taxes on distributions from tax-deferred IRAs and other qualified retirement plans. The Tax Foundation estimates that the new administration’s “… tax plan by 2030 would lead to about 7.7 percent less after-tax income for the top 1 percent of taxpayers and about a 1.9 percent decline in after-tax income for all taxpayers on average.”
Make Estate Planning Changes Now to Protect Your Assets for the Future
Mortellaro Law monitors current and proposed tax legislation, so we can better assist clients on how to best structure their estate planning. Increased taxes and new tax penalties on end-of-life benefits can cost you and your beneficiaries. Taking measures now can mitigate this tax impact can save hundreds or thousands of dollars.
You may want to take inventory and reexamine your assets and how they are titled, as well as consider restructuring existing trusts. You may want to examine the ways that life insurance can help you defer end-of-life costs and help to fund other measures. For example, life insurance can be used to convert funds from tax-deferred status to tax-free status over time.
A Tampa estate planning attorney from Mortellaro Law can explain more about the intersection of life insurance, trusts, retirement accounts, and more. An experienced attorney can show you how these tools can shield your assets from increasing tax burdens that may well be coming soon. Call 813-551-0923 today and schedule an estate planning review with Mortellaro Law, or contact us on facebook.
