The Great Wealth Transfer

According to Cerulli Associates, a financial research and analytics company, $68 trillion dollars from millions of US households is going to change hands over the next 25 years. The Baby Boomer generation holds the most wealth of any generation in this country (over $70 trillion dollars according to the Federal Reserve System). As they grow older over the next 25 years, they will begin to transfer that money to family and loved ones. 

As we know the Biden administration wants to increase the top tax rate and potentially double capital gains tax, although when these changes could occur is unclear. Even without these potential changes from the current administration estate planning is essential for people preparing to transfer wealth.

 On top of that, the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017, which cut taxes and nearly doubled exemptions, will expire in 2025. This also includes the reduction of the current $11.7 million-dollar federal exemption on estate taxes by over 50%. 

Luckily with proper preparation, there are some things that can be done to preserve your wealth and make sure your loved ones receive as much as possible. 

There are several ways to keep your wealth intact but the ones we focus on here at Monteforte Law have to do with maximizing your individual exemption from estate taxes through Trusts. A couple of the more common ones we use are the Credit Shelter Trust and the Medicaid Trust. A Credit Shelter Trust is great for a married couple who each want to utilize that individual exemption from estate tax. A Medicaid Trust could be useful in protecting your house from estate taxes. 

There are certainly other ways to preserve your wealth, through charitable giving or setting up education plans for members of your family. All of this though requires some serious planning, and it is crucial to have someone who knows the ins and outs of this process create these documents for you. 

Without proper planning or documents, your wealth could be subject to up to 40% estate tax!

Interested in learning about how you can preserve your wealth and pass down your legacy? Give us a call today at 978-657-7437 or go to bookmyplanningsession.com to schedule your Strategic Planning Session today.

Read the full article by Kate Dore here.