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Addressing adopted children or stepchildren in your estate plan

To ensure your desired treatment of adopted children or unadopted stepchildren, you and your spouse or partner must clearly communicate your plans through wills, trusts and other estate planning documents.

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When should you turn down an inheritance?

If you expect to receive an inheritance from a family member, you might want to use a qualified disclaimer to refuse the bequest, saving gift and estate tax while redirecting funds appropriately.

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The GST tax and your estate plan: What you need to know

The generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax is among the harshest and most complex in the tax code. So, if you’re planning to share some of your wealth with your grandchildren or great grandchildren — or if your estate plan is likely to benefit these generations — it’s critical to consider and plan for the GST tax.

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A Living Will Can Help Ensure Your Last Medical Wishes are Carried Out

The terms “last will and testament” and “living will” may sound similar, but, in fact, they’re not at all similar. The latter is an important estate planning document that details your medical wishes should you become incapacitated.

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The HSA: A healthy supplement to your wealth-building regimen

In addition to helping to reduce health care costs, a Health Savings Account can positively affect an estate plan because its funds grow on a tax-deferred basis, potentially building wealth for heirs.

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Opening up to SLAT opportunities

Estate tax planning can become complicated when multiple parties are involved. For example, you have a spouse from a second marriage and children from your first marriage. Spousal lifetime access trusts, or SLATs, are designed to benefit your children or other heirs, while paying income to your spouse during his or her lifetime.

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What estate planning strategies are available for non-U.S. citizens?

If you’re a U.S. resident, but not a citizen, the IRS treats you similarly to a U.S. citizen. Residency is a complicated subject and estate tax planning can get complicated if you or your spouse is a nonresident alien.

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A beneficiary designation or joint title can override your will

Inattention to beneficiary designations and jointly titled assets can quickly unravel your estate plan. To ensure that your estate plan reflects your wishes, review beneficiary designations and property titles regularly, particularly after significant life events.

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Defined-value gifts: Plan carefully to avoid unpleasant tax surprises

It can be risky to make gifts of hard-to-value assets, such as interests in a closely held business or family limited partnership (FLP) because of the prospect of unexpected tax liability. A defined-value gift may be the answer.

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Clarity Counts When it Comes to Estate Planning Documents

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If you’re planning your estate, precise language is critical in your planning documents. A lack of clarity may be an invitation to litigation. Learn more about the implications of ambiguous language from the dispute that arose after musician Tom Petty’s death.

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