Last Minute Estate Planning

Our Palm Desert Estate Planning lawyers see too many clients fail to timely update their estate plan. Since Congress has not given us any idea if they will address the tax laws before January 1, 2013, our lawyers are planning for Estate Tax Armageddon. As we have previously posted, the laws for gift and estate taxes are changing at 12:01 A.M. on January 1, 2013 unless Congress passes new legislation. Unfortunately, this means there is only eight more weeks to schedule an appointment with your estate planning attorney to revise your documents.

Engaging in last-minute estate planning can be sloppy and dangerous. Numerous issues can arise having very costly consequences if you don’t timely review and revise your plan. If you’re interested in taking advantage of the life-time gift exemption of $5.1 million, make sure your gift is completed before January 1, 2013. This doesn’t mean you can hand a check to your child and hope that he or she cashes it before New Year’s Day. A safer method is to do a wire transfer that ensures the funds are deposited fully before January 1st. If you’re gifting real property, make sure the deed is signed AND recorded before January 1, 2013.

Don’t miss out on these valuable opportunities by waiting until the last minute to address your estate planning problems. Schedule an appointment with your attorney early so that you have enough time to review, revise and execute new documents before New Year’s Eve.

AVVO
AV PREEMINENT
State Bar of California
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