Dear Garden State Trust: At what wealth level do I need to worry about the federal estate tax? —Affluent, Not Rich Dear Affluent: That depends upon your circumstances. The amount exempt from the federal estate and gift tax in 2022 will be inflation-adjusted to $12,060,000, up from $11,700,000 in 2021. If you are married, you…
Year: 2021
Scams Are Becoming More Elaborate
Although we may know of various scams and how to avoid them, we can’t know them all because they are changing all the time. Sometimes we can spot these changes as they happen. When the Nigerian prince scam changed from being mailed to being emailed, it wasn’t that hard to tell it was the same…
Investments
Dear Garden State Trust: I’m looking for an investment that could double or triple my money in a year. However, it can’t be too risky, as I’ve had some financial setbacks this year. I have a lot of ground to make up, but I have to do it safely. What do you recommend? —Mixed Signals…
Trusts and Philanthropy
Americans are some of the most generous people in the world. Although one might have expected charitable giving to have decreased in uncertain times during a global pandemic, Americans donated a record $471 billion dollars to charity in 2020, according to a recent report in Giving USA. One wealth management strategy for a substantial gift…
GRATs
Dear Garden State Trust: What is a GRAT? Is this something I should be considering? —Curious About Trusts Dear Curious: GRAT stands for Grantor Retained Annuity Trust. This is a temporary trust that may be used to transfer large sums free of federal gift or estate tax. The Grantor establishes the trust for a specific…
Social Security Basics
Social Security may be about to experience one of its largest increases for cost of living since the 1980s, due to the recent increases in inflation. Some estimates show an increase as high as 6%, and the actual numbers will be released later in October. Although Social Security is for all workers, it is complicated.…
Marital Trusts
Dear Garden State Trust: Now that the federal estate tax exemption is over $11 million, do I still need a marital deduction trust in my will for my wife? —Concerned Husband Dear Concerned: Most likely, yes. If your current will includes a trust for a surviving spouse, you probably will want to keep it. A…