Patch Blog: The Presidential Election and Your Estate

Election Year Antics
Welcome to politics in 2012! Did you sign up for what we’re getting in America? In many ways, nobody is happy with the landscape. Most of us—Independents, Democrats, and Republicans alike—are unhappy (or even disgusted) with politics in general. It’s times like this, however, when we need to pay the most attention. It’s the point at which our system is ripe for big change-good or bad.

Pushing through the urge to disengage is difficult, but if we don’t all take responsibility for it, then we’ll end up in a place where we don’t want to be. It may sound cliché, but we should all be taking responsibility.

More Reasons To Be Involved Than Ever Before
Even if the typical issues like taxes, the economy, social matters, job creation, globalization and fiscal policy aren’t enough to motivate you, there is one issue that will probably get you off the couch this election season: YOUR ESTATE!

On December 31st of this year, a law that provides very good tax treatment for estates will sunset, unless it is renewed by Congress and the President. The current law exempts from taxation estates of $5 million or less ($10 million for married couples). That means that most folks currently fall completely outside the realm of taxation.

If the current law does expire, the law that replaces it will likely tax estates that exceed the $1 million mark. In other words, the new law will almost certainly cast a much wider net, and if you are at all concerned about your wealth, then you should be paying attention to the 2012 elections and writing to your representatives in Congress. Every dollar in your bank account is a reason to be more involved than ever before.

It Can Actually Be Fun
The idea is to fully express yourself, and it’s okay to have some fun while doing it. While the issues are very serious, there’s no reason that you have to take yourself too seriously, even when you’re talking politics with friends and family. When you talk about your favorite candidates, talk about the issues and encourage your loved ones of voting age to research those issues and where the candidates stand on those issues. And smile while you’re doing it!

An election year also presents an opportunity to teach your kids about our electoral system, the reasons it exists, and the importance of being involved. Kids really do believe that they can make a difference in the world, and that idea should be nurtured, since children are our future.

What You Can Do
Even if the beneficial estate tax laws sunset in 2012, you can take action today to prevent losing significant benefits. There are several things you can do. You can gift, you can create a trust and you can take advantage of various estate planning tools that can help you save on estate taxes.  It's a good idea to take advantage of these planning tools before the current estate tax laws change.

If you have questions about establishing an estate plan, you can call me at 818-864-6174 or email me at vanessa@vterzianlaw.com.  You can also visit my website at www.vterzianlaw.com for more information.