California Estate Planning - An Overview
Northern Trust has a brochure entitled: "Estate Planning: Strategic Wealth Transfers During Life and at Death". It contains an estate planning overview worth looking at. The topics include:
Fundamental Questions
Who Should Receive Your Assets?
Which Assets Should They Receive?
When and How Should You Transfer Wealth?
Basic Estate Planning Documents
Will
Living Trust
Recruiting the Right Team
Who Should Draft Your Estate Plan?
Who Should be Your Executors and Trustees?
Who Should be the Guardian for Your Children?
Estate Settlement
Transferring Property After Death
Receiving Benefits After Death
The Probate Process
Determining Potential Estate Taxes
How Much is Your Estate Worth?
How the Federal Estate Tax System Works
State Estate Tax
Step-up or Step-down in Basis At Death
SELECTED TRANSFER TAX SAVINGS STRATEGIES
Strategy #1: Using The Marital Deduction Wisely
Plan to Use Both The Marital Deduction and Your Estate Tax Exemption
Control Wealth With a QTIP Trust
Give Your Spouse Control with General Power of Appointment Trust
Create a Qualified Domestic Trusts
Strategy #2: Lifetime Wealth Transfers
Gift Tax Exclusion
Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA) Accounts
Qualified Trusts for Minors
Crummey Trusts
Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts
Strategy #3: Using the Gift Tax Exemption Wisely
Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT)
Family Limited Partnerships (FLP)
Strategy #4: Consider Carryover Basis
General Rule: “Carryover Basis” for Gifts
Don’t Transfer Assets With a Built-In Loss
What about Step-Up At Death?
Strategy #5: Trusts That Benefit Both Individuals and Charity During .
Life or At Death
Charitable Remainder Trust: Cash Flow and Flexibility
Charitable Lead Trusts: Passing Wealth to Future Generations
Strategy #6: Private Foundations and Donor Advised Funds
Grant Making: Private Foundations
Donor Advised Funds
Strategy #7: Focusing on the Family-Owned Business
Who Will Manage the Business?
Who Should Own Your Business?
How Will the IRS Value Your Company?
Strategy #8: Planning to Avoid Generation Skipping Transfer Tax
Allocating GST Exemption
Tax Strategies
Strategy #9: Evaluating Your Need For Life Insurance
Is Lost Earning Power an Issue?
Is Liquidity an Issue?
Choose the Best Owner
Consider an ILIT
Strategy #10: Understanding Community Property Issues
Remember, Marital Rights Are Expanded
Plan Carefully When Using a Living Trust
Community Property and Tax Cost
IMPLEMENTING AND UPDATING YOUR PLAN
Where Do You Go From Here? No endorsement of Northern Trust or its agents is intended. So, call a qualified California estate planning attorney for help with your tax planning. Call Mitchell A. Port at (310) 559-5259.
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