3 Tips For Saving On Your Estate Taxes And Fees

It is no secret that executing an estate after someone dies is expensive. There are many taxes associated with estate planning, and if you are not careful, you can spend a great deal of money in death taxes. That is why it is important that you plan your estate with experienced attorneys like Price & Associates who can help you to protect your hard-earned money. Here are a couple tips for how you can save money on your estate.

1. Gift Money Before You Pass Away

As you start to age you might consider gifting your children's inheritance to them. Each year you can gift up to $14,000 without having to pay any taxes on the amount. This means that if you want to give a married child some of their inheritance, you could gift $14,000 to each spouse, totaling $28,000 to the family without having to pay anything in taxes.

This is a good way to start distributing your wealth in a tax-free way. In addition, it will allow you to see your children and loved ones enjoy their money before you pass away.

2. Put Your Home In A Joint Account

Another good way to save taxes, especially on your home, is to put the home in a joint account. This means that you add another person as a joint owner of the house. It could be your spouse, your child or whoever you intend to get the house after you die.

If you put your house in your will, not a trust or a joint account, the house will be sold and the money distributed to your children and beneficiaries. The house will be taxed on the amount that you sold it for. Those taxes can be very high. Instead, if you have a joint owner, they don't have to pay estate taxes on the house if they sell it.

3. Create A Trust

A trust is your best friend when it comes to estate planning. A trust is a great way to get your loved ones their property and money right away. If you put everything in a will, then it must go through probate before it can be distributed. This takes time and a lot of money. Instead, a trust will protect your assets better and will make it so everything passes straight to the beneficiary and avoids probate. Thus, every estate plan should have a trust.

These are just a couple ways that you can save on your estate taxes and fees. 

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