28 January

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Changes to the Estate and Gift Taxes

With the passage of the recent tax act, you may be wondering what your strategy for avoiding estate and gift taxes should be now. First of all, for those of us who have less than $5 million and expect to always have less than $5 million, nothing has changed. You did not have an estate tax problem before the tax bill was passed and you do not have an estate tax problem now that it is passed. What about those who are in the $5 million range, right on the cusp of being subject to estate tax at death? First, if you...

07 December

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Strategies to Consider for Year-End Tax Planning

Posted by GMD Legal

in Estate Tax Planning

With a sweeping tax bill having passed the House, we will now see what happens when the Senate gets its hands on it. One of the major features of the bill is a reduction of the top corporate income tax rate from 35% now to 20%. This rate only applies to “C” corporations, that is corporations that pay their own taxes, as opposed to the “S” corporation where the income tax liability is reported and paid directly by the shareholders, at the shareholders’ rates. So if you do have a C corporation, do everything you can to move income from 2017...

13 May

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How to Select the Right Probate Attorney

Posted by GMD Legal

in Probate

The probate process can be overwhelming for individuals who are grieving due to the passing of a loved one and confronted with the prospect of an unknown protracted court administration. Probate, or the court supervised administration of a decedent’s estate, whether they died with a will or without a will (testate vs. intestate) is a very formalistic and statutory governed practice. ...

19 April

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Relationship Between Estate Taxes and Gift Taxes Explained

Posted by GMD Legal

in Elder Law

In my prior blog several months ago, I explained in general terms the rules concerning lifetime gifting and potential gift taxes associated with such gifts. I now move on to the estate tax. The estate tax and gift tax are linked at the hip, so to understand the estate tax, it’s necessary to lay some groundwork by explaining the relationship between the estate and gift taxes. Under current law, each US citizen, (as well as resident aliens, and we are talking legal resident aliens here), has an exemption from the gift tax of $5.49 million. This means that, in addition to...

09 January

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Las Vegas Attorney Robert Graham Allegedly Disappears with Millions of Client Money

Posted by GMD Legal

in Probate, Trust Administration

It's very important to have a reputable attorney for your probate needs. This article is an example of a possible worst-case scenario. Whether or not the allegations are true will remain to be seen. At Grant Morris Dodds, we believe in being beyond reproach. Thousands of clients have trusted us over the years with their probate court & probate needs. Read the details from the Las Vegas Review Journal article here....

07 January

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What is Probate?

Posted by GMD Legal

in Probate

You have likely heard the term “probate” used in the context of handling a person’s affairs upon their death. Probate is indeed the administering of a decedent’s estate through a formal legal process usually under the jurisdiction of a specific court. ...

19 December

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Saving on Estate and Income Tax by Gift Giving

Posted by GMD Legal

in Estate Tax Planning

There is a lot of confusion out there, even among many of our most astute clients, concerning estate tax rates, estate tax exemptions, annual gift exemptions and lifetime exemptions. So to begin, here are the exemptions for 2016, and where applicable for 2017. Annual gift exemptions Annual gift exemption remains at $14,000. This means that you may give to any number of different people up to $14,000 per year without any need to report the gift, unless you make other gifts which cause you to exceed this limit. So let’s say you are married, have 2 children and 3 grandchildren. You may...

20 November

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How to Create a Living Will and Why it’s Important

Posted by GMD Legal

in Wills

What Is A Living Will? A living will (sometimes called an Advanced Directive, Healthcare Directive, Directive to Physicians, or DNR Order) is a legal document that any person with capacity can execute to inform physicians, first responders, or even family members of their wishes and preferences as relating to emergency or end-of-life medical care in the event that person is not able to make or communicate those wishes. Is It Important For Me To Have A Living Will? No one likes to think about getting older, getting sick, or even becoming incapacitated. However, accidents and unforeseen events happen every single day and all...

12 June

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Estate Planning and the Capital Gain Tax

Posted by David M. Grant

in Estate Planning

Back in the heyday of estate planning when just about everyone who died owning a home and an IRA would have an estate subject to this tax, the choice between paying estate tax versus paying capital gain tax was an easy one to make. Up until the last few years, the highest estate tax bracket was 55% and the top long-term capital gain tax bracket was only 15%. If you had a choice of paying the estate tax or paying the capital gain tax, the capital gain tax was the obvious choice. This choice was really so clear-cut that most of...

28 March

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