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Brought
to you by...
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| Circa Benefits Insurance Agency
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| QUOTES from
the Masters... |
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On Trust
"To
be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved." -- George
MacDonald Continue...
On Values/Principles
"Freedom
requires that we learn and put into practice the three R's - Respect,
Responsibility,
and Restraint." -- Fr. Brian
Cavanaugh,
TOR Continue...
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MESSAGES from the
Masters...
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Four
Essentials for Happiness by Brian Tracy
You may have a thousand different
goals over the course of your lifetime, but they all will fall into one
of four basic categories. Everything you do is an attempt to enhance
the
quality of your life in one or more of these areas. Continue...
Change:
Embrace It or Resist It by Nido R. Qubein
For many people, change is
more threatening than challenging. They see it has the destroyer of
what
is familiar and comfortable rather than the creator of what is new and
exciting. Most people, and organizations, would rather be comfortable
than
excellent. Continue...
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Misconceptions
About the Unlimited Marital Deduction...
| The marital deduction
eliminates both the federal estate and gift tax on transfers of
property
between a husband and wife, in effect
treating
them as one economic unit. The
amount
of property that can be transferred between them is unlimited,
meaning that a spouse can transfer all of his or her property to the
other
spouse, during lifetime or at death, and completely escape any federal
estate or gift tax on this first transfer.
However, property
transferred in excess of the unified credit equivalent will ultimately
be subject to estate tax in the estate of the surviving spouse, meaning
that use of the unlimited marital deduction will NOT
eliminate
estate settlement costs.
Consider the following:
- At best,
the unlimited marital deduction will POSTPONE
payment of the federal estate tax, not
ELIMINATE
it. If the estate of the surviving spouse exceeds the unified
credit
equivalent(1),
federal estate tax will be payable at the second death. In fact,
postponing payment of the tax may even result in a higher federal
estate
tax, if estate assets continue to grow.
- The unlimited marital
deduction does not eliminate the need for estate liquidity to pay
administrative
costs, such as funeral expenses, probate costs, legal fees and final
expenses.
- The unlimited marital
deduction is NOT
available to:
*
Surviving spouses;
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Single or divorced people; or
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A married person who wants/needs to leave property to someone other
than
the spouse.
| (1)
The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA
2001),
signed into law by President Bush on June 7, 2001, repeals the estate
tax
for one year – 2010. Under that law, the federal estate tax
continues,
but with increasing unified credits and decreasing top estate tax
rates,
until 2010 when it is repealed only for that year. Without future
Congressional action, the 2001 federal estate tax rules will be
reinstated
in 2011, but with a $1 million exemption equivalent (as scheduled to
increase
prior to the Act). |
With proper advance
planning, it may be possible to take full advantage of the marital
deduction
at both spouses' deaths, reducing estate tax liability and increasing
the
size of the estate ultimately left to surviving family members.
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We
don't want to add to your e-mail clutter! If you do not enjoy
my
newsletter, just reply to this e-mail and ask to be removed or call my
office. Thanks!
The purpose
of this newsletter
is to provide information of general interest to our clients, potential
clients and other professionals. The information provided is
general
in nature and should not be considered complete information on any
product
or concept described. For more complete information, please
contact
my office at the phone number above.
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About Our
Firm...
Circa Benefits offers a full array of insurance and annuity services. We are dedicated to understanding your unique needs by working closely with you to develop and manage a plan that will help you protect and accomplish your financial goals. |
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