SHB_p027

SHB01052017

FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com THE COURIER SUN • JANUARY 5, 2017 27 Now’s a good time to check the state of your personal affairs What’s the state of your estate? Robert Fishbein, a vice president and corporate counsel in Prudential Financial’s Tax Department, says now’s a good time to find out. Changes in federal estate tax law have significantly increased the amount at which federal estate tax is triggered, says Fishbein. The individual exemption is $5.49 million (2017 amount, indexed for inflation) so a couple can accumulate almost $11 million of assets without federal estate tax depleting the value. The $5.49 million will increase over time. As a result, most individuals no longer need an estate plan to minimize federal estate tax. That said, Fishbein adds, there are compelling reasons for having an estate plan, and three core documents you’ll need to create one: a power of attorney, a living will or health care proxy, and a will. POWER OF ATTORNEY A power of attorney is the document designating someone to make financial decisions for you, whether you’re out of the country for a long period, have a physical injury preventing you from conducting business in person, or are mentally incapacitated. With the durable power of attorney, there’s no basis for contesting whether the holder of the power can act. The risk is the holder has the immediate right and ability to access and take action with respect to the financial assets subject to the power. One possible strategy? Limit the power to specific assets. This won’t help if the grantor if the power is totally incapacitated and the holder may need access to all of the grantor’s assets. LIVING WILL AND HEALTH CARE PROXY A “living will” ensures your health care wishes are acted upon if you are unable to make such decisions. It lets you describe the types of treatment you do or don’t want under specific circumstances. For example, if you have a terminal illness, you may not want extraordinary measures taken to save your life. The challenge is it’s almost impossible to anticipate all possible scenarios to indicate what health care treatment you’ll want. An alternative to a pure living will is a “living will and health care proxy,” wherein you designate an individual to make health care choices for you. The living will portion describes in general terms your health care philosophy, and the health care proxy allows you to name an individual to make health care choices for you consistent with that philosophy. LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT With the increase of the federal estate tax exemption and an individual’s ability to use the exemption of a deceased spouse, trusts for federal estate tax planning have been made largely irrelevant for most individuals. However, if you have minor children who could take property if both you and your spouse die, or grandchildren who could take property if a child of yours dies and leaves children, you’ll probably need trusts to hold property for those beneficiaries. Such trusts will enable you to determine who’ll invest the trust property, how it’ll be used for the child’s benefit and at what age the beneficiary will receive the remaining property. Prudential Financial, its affiliates, and its financial professionals do not render tax or legal advice. Please consult your tax and legal advisors for advice concerning your particular circumstances. Courtesy BPT A Greater Quality of Life ��24-hour emergency response system ��Three meals daily, restaurant style ��Kosher meals ��Nurse on call 24 hours ��Full schedule of Lifestyle activities Call Today! 718-760-4600 Partners With Our Community for Almost 20 Years Castle Senior Living 108-25 Horace Harding Expressway Forest Hills, NY 11368 718-760-4600 www.chelseaseniorliving.com Multi Specialty Physical Rehabilitation Center SPINAL & SPORTS INJURIES, ARTHRITIS, POST SURGICAL & MORE! ���������������������������������� �������������������������������������� �������������������������� ���������������������������� ������������������������������������ We accept most types of Insurance & Workers Compensation Please call to make an appointment: 516-218-2222 40 East Merrick Road, Suite #104 · Valley Stream, NY 11580


SHB01052017
To see the actual publication please follow the link above