9 Ways to Avoid Estate Taxes

Estate taxes can be a rude awakening for even the most financially-savvy families. Estate taxes are currently charged on estates that exceed $675,000. With the price of real estate today, your parent's estate may be worth this, or more. And the taxes can be steep, with rates ranging from 37% to 55%.

This book explains how to shield as much of an estate as possible for family and other beneficiaries. Written by a lawyer, in plain English, it presents nine major methods that people can use to avoid or reduce federal estate taxes.

These methods include: making gifts of under $10,000, making gifts for tuition or medical expenses, giving or leaving property to a spouse, creating a Bypass (AB) Trust, creating a QTIP or QDOT Trust, contributing to a charity, transferring life insurance policies, using disclaimers, and using special rules for small businesses. If you would like to plan ahead and avoid paying estate taxes, you should have this book. 240 pages, 8 x 10, $29.95

Contents

Introduction: Understanding the Federal Gift and Estate Tax
The Unified Gift and Estate Tax: An Overview
Gift Tax
Federal Estate Tax
Will Your Estate Have to Pay Taxes?

1: Make Gifts Under $10,000
Thinking Before You Give
The $10,000 Annual Exclusion
What to Give -- And What to Keep
Ways to Make Gifts
Gifts That Could Land You in Tax Trouble
Gifts to Trusts
Gifts to Children
Making Taxable Gifts

2: Pay Tuition or Medical Expenses
How Payments Must be Made
Medical Expenses
Tuition

3: Leave or Give Property to Your Spouse
Spouses Who Are U.S. Citizens
Non-Citizen Spouses
When the Marital Deduction Makes Sense -- And When it Doesn't
Combining the Marital Deduction With Other Tax-Saving Methods
Making Gifts to Your Spouse to Equalize Your Estates

4: Use a Bypass (AB) Trust
The Estate Tax Trap for Married Couples
AB Trust Basics
Is an AB Trust for You?
The Surviving Spouse's Right
The Trustee
How Much Property to Place in an AB Trust
Bypass Trusts for Unmarried Persons

5: Use a QTIP Trust
Do You Need a QTIP Trust?
How QTIP Trusts Work
A Drawback of QTIP Trusts: Possible Higher Eventual Tax
The Surviving Spouse's Rights
Powers That May be Given to the Surviving Spouse
The Executor's Role: Making the "QTIP Election"
The Reverse QTIP Election
Choosing Your Trustee
Trusts for Non-Citizen Spouses: QDOTS

6: Give to Charity
Investigating Charities: Look Before They Reap
Making Outright Gifts: What to Give
Charitable Trusts
Setting Up a Charitable Trust
Charitable Gift Annuities
The Income Tax Deduction for Charitable Gifts
Replacing Donated Money for Your Family

7: Transfer Ownership of Your Life Insurance Policies
Giving a Policy to Another Person
Setting Up a Life Insurance Trust
Types of Life Insurance to Give
Choosing Life Insurance Beneficiaries

8: Use Disclaimers
How Disclaimers Save on Estate and Gift Tax
Other Benefits of Disclaimers
IRS Rules for Disclaimers
Couples and Disclaimers
Planning for Disclaimers

9: Use Special Rules for Small Businesses
The $1.3 Million Estate Tax Exemption
Special Rules for Valuing Business Real Estate
Gifts of Minority Interests in the Business
Deferring Estate Tax Payments

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