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For calendar year 2012, the lifetime federal gift and estate tax exemption and the generation-skipping transfer tax (GSTT) exemption are both set at historically high values of $5.12 million. In 2013, these exemptions are scheduled to go back down to $1 million. Year 2012 might be the last opportunity for individual United States taxpayers to move millions of dollars into an irrevocable dynasty trust without incurring punitive gift taxes, and to ensure that future generations of trust beneficiaries receive benefits free of GST taxes.

Everyone likes a good surprise from time to time. There are some situations where a surprise can be welcome. An estate plan is not one of these situations. A surprise in an estate plan can lead to difficulties and difficulties can cost your estate money.

Owning Real Estate in multiple states is a dream for many, but a reality that many have already achieved. This means you could have a residence in one state and a vacation home in another state. This is a good thing for the few that can pull it off, but there can be consequences down the road. Owning property in multiple states can drastically affect your estate plan.

There comes a time when you must decide what your estate plan will ultimately look like. Plans for your estate come an many different forms, but one key distinction to make between choices is the plan you want versus the plan you need. The estate plan that you want may not always be the estate plan that you need.

When one is coming up with an estate plan there is a common practice that some people engage in. That practice is putting their name on a bank account with their child or what is also known as having the bank account titled jointly.There are reasons to title a bank account jointly with a child that would convince someone that this would be a good idea.

When you finally decide that it is time to make your estate plan you will have to schedule a meeting with an estate planning attorney. There will come a point when the conversation with your estate planning attorney may get uncomfortable or personal and you feel that you should not reveal everything and hold some information back. Deciding to hold back information could jeopardize your estate plan though. Your estate plan is only as good as how much you share with your estate planning attorney.

Making an estate plan is an important step in taking control of your financial life, but you must have an accurate and complete picture of your overall net worth and potential for growth of your net worth in the future. It is very easy to underestimate the size of your estate when making your estate plan. This could potentially be harmful for your estate and reduce the amount that your heirs receive.

Although it is difficult to think about your own mortality, if you have minor children under the age of eighteen then it is something that you must consider for their own protection and well being. The estate plan that you come up with when you are still alive will greatly affect and shape the course of their entire lives.

Some families are blessed with a child that is extremely successful in terms of wealth. This condition can make planning an estate more challenging than it would normally be. Making an estate plan as a parent that has one child that is more successful than the other children can present some difficulties if you do not properly plan ahead.

When parents get older and have multiple children, one child may provide caretaking responsibilities for the parent. The child that provides caretaking responsibilities for the parent may live closer to the parent than the other children or have a schedule that allows them to provide these responsibilities. It is common for the parent to want to reward the child that provides caretaking responsibilities with a greater share of their estate than the children that did not provide care. This can be problematic.