If you haven’t looked at your will or estate plan lately, now is a good time to do so.
Wealth Advisor recently published an article—“Tune-Up Your Estate Plan in Light of Changing Conditions”—that asks if your estate plan is still appropriate, in light of several changes in the law.
The federal estate tax gift and estate tax exemption amount is now $11.4 million, indexed for inflation, which is an all-time high. A married couple can transfer twice that amount to children or others, or $22.8 million, without any federal gift and estate tax. The federal exemption amount is also now “portable” between spouses. It means that the first spouse to die, can transfer any unused exemption to the surviving spouse, without the need of a “credit shelter trust.”
Note that the enhanced federal exemption amount is scheduled to “sunset” in 2026, returning back down to $5.6 million (indexed for inflation).
In Wisconsin, they’ve repealed the estate tax. In the state of Illinois, the estate tax exemption amount is $4 million and isn’t portable. This makes flexibility in an estate plan desirable. For residents in the Land of Lincoln, the estate tax is a factor for many families, and the potential savings through proper estate planning are still major.
Another consideration to note includes the fact that surrogate’s courts and probate courts—which have always moved at a snail’s pace—have become even slower.
Some of these changes may impact your current estate plan. You may want to take advantage of the enhanced federal exemption amount, before it goes away.
Talk to one of our experienced estate planning attorneys to see how you can shelter your savings from any estate tax, if you are married and live in a state with an estate tax like Illinois. This could save you a lot of money that you can then pass on to your heirs. To request a consultation, please submit our online form.