Tax Planning Attorney for Minimizing Estate Tax, Gift Tax, Income Tax, and Other Taxes in Indiana.
Preparing for the future is vital, but many individuals put off critical estate and tax planning, compromising tax advantages, benefits, and valuable assets that could have gone to loved ones. At Plitz Estate Planning, firm founder Jim Plitz has been helping families create strategic and pragmatic estate plans designed to ensure loved ones receive assets in a manner that minimizes estate tax, gift tax, income tax, and other taxes for over a decade.
It is critical to understand that there is no one-size-fits-all estate plan, as each person’s situation is unique. As an estate tax planning lawyer, Attorney Jim Plitz has a deep understanding of Indiana estate planning and tax minimization strategies that can be leveraged to maximize assets while minimizing taxes. Don’t let the government take assets that could go to your beneficiaries – call Plitz Estate Planning today to schedule a free consultation to learn more about our affordable and pragmatic tax planning services.
We proudly serve residents of New Albany and the surrounding communities, including Lafayette, Sellersburg, Jeffersonville Township, Clarksville, Jeffersonville, Oak Park, Louisville, Franklin, Dennis, and throughout Indiana.
Indiana Tax Planning FAQs
At Plitz Estate Planning, we understand complex tax matters and assist families and high-net-worth individuals in planning their estates to achieve their tax and succession objectives.
There are numerous options for reducing a taxable estate. For example, many individuals establish trusts to transfer their wealth and minimize probate matters. Others also incorporate tax-saving lifetime or testamentary tools, such as:
- Charitable giving
- Gifts to family members (including real and personal property)
- Inheritance protection trusts
- Life insurance trusts
Regardless of your situation, Indiana tax planning attorney Jim Plitz can help you and your family create a methodical estate plan designed to maximize your wealth now and preserve your legacy and assets for use by the next generation in accordance with your wishes.
A methodical gift-giving strategy can help reduce the size of an individual’s taxable estate and provide financial assistance to loved ones. As of January 2022, an individual can gift up to $16,000 annually to an unlimited number of recipients without reducing the lifetime gift exclusion.
A person may give away additional funds per year to any recipient (in excess of the $16,000 annual limit) if the gift is rendered directly to a healthcare provider or educational institution. For example, a parent could pay a child’s $25,000 tuition directly to a school without impacting the credit, meaning they could also gift an additional $16,000 to the child in the same year.
Some estate taxes are unavoidable; as such, determining what funds will be used to pay the tax burden can become challenging. For example, if a family-owned business is part of an estate, it may not be possible to leverage assets to pay taxes without causing great harm to the health of the company and security of the employees.
One of the primary benefits of owning life insurance is the ability to generate a lump sum of compensation payable to heirs upon an individual’s death. Further, an even greater advantage is that life insurance proceeds have the benefit of being income tax free at the federal level, although they may still be counted as part of a taxable estate for estate tax purposes.
An Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust is one tool that can be utilized to leverage this benefit and provide the resources needed to cover estate taxes. An insurance policy can be triggered by the death of a single person. Gifts are typically made by the insured party to the trust for the benefit of beneficiaries. Then, the assets gifted to the trust can be utilized to purchase and pay for life insurance. Upon the death of the individual, a trustee can distribute the life insurance proceeds to beneficiaries, free of income and estate tax, providing funds to cover any estate taxes.
However, the government has established thresholds regarding the amount of gifts that can be made annually, so it is critical to ensure that these limits are not exceeded. As an experienced Indiana tax planning attorney servicing New Albany and the surrounding communities, Jim Plitz can learn about your needs and objectives, explain your legal options and applicable thresholds, and create an estate plan that leverages all advantageous tax minimization tools.
Call our office today to schedule a free initial consultation to learn more about our affordable tax planning representation.
Satisfaction Guaranteed
Satisfaction Guaranteed – If you are not 100% satisfied with the service or process within 60 days of signing your estate planning documents, you will receive a full refund.
