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What part of your estate
would you like your family to liquidate in order to
pay your estate taxes?
Most of us are pretty good about taking care of our
present needs and protecting the things we value. But
surprisingly, many of us never take the time to address
what could be our biggest financial questions.
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Who will receive your estate?
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Will you owe federal or state taxes and, if so, how
much will you owe?
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Where will the money come from to pay the taxes?
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If cash and other liquid assets are available to
your heirs are sufficient to pay the taxes due, will
they have to liquidate your estate?
Without proper planning, estate taxes could consume
a substantial portion of everything you own.
Proper estate planning now can help you reduce the amount
of taxes your estate will owe, as well as allow you to
plan for how the assets you’ve accumulated over
your lifetime will be distributed.
The
most common estate planning tools include:
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Wills – a legal declaration of how you want
your assets to be distributed when you die.
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Trusts – a method of transferring property
to your beneficiaries with several tax and non-tax
advantages.
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Charitable gifts – ways you can distribute
a portion of your assets to selected organizations,
thus reducing the amount of taxes you owe.
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Life insurance – providing the cash your
family needs to maintain their lifestyle and the
liquidity needed to pay estate taxes and settlement
costs.
Do you know what your estate is worth?
Have you planned for the orderly disposition
of your estate?
Find out more about strategies to help reduce
taxes, transfer assets to heirs quickly and privately,
and preserve what you spent a lifetime building.
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