For every estate a primary concern may be the effect of estate, gift, or generation-skipping transfer taxation on the value of property passed at your death. The federal and state laws with respect to estate taxation are complicated. Current federal laws allow a person to pass the following amount of property federal estate tax free if no prior taxable gifts have been made:

Estate Planning spreadsheet

The threshold for Massachusetts, by contrast (starting in 2006) is $1 million.

Other state estate tax laws may be similar to Massachusetts, or different. Laws in each state in which a person’s other property is connected must be examined in the planning and administration of wealth transfer. Appropriate gift and generation skipping transfer planning is essential to minimize taxes. Probate laws also need to be considered, but the bottom line is - what do you want with respect to transferring your wealth?

The lawyers at Clements Pajak LLC have extensive experience to help you plan your estate, whether married or single, gay, lesbian or straight, U.S. citizen or non-U.S. citizen. Sometimes proper planning can eliminate estate taxes at the federal and / or state level. Contact us for your consultation.

IRS Circular 230 Notice:

To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the Internal Revenue Service, we inform you that any U.S. tax advice contained in this communication is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used by any taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding U.S. tax penalties.