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THE WARREN-WATCHUNG CONNECTION
SEPT/OCT/NOV 2016
Estate Planning Workshops Sponsored by: GAIL L. ABRAMS, ATTORNEY AT LAW 908-753-4156 or make reservations online at www.estateattorneynj.com 7 Johnston Drive • Watchung, NJ 07069 CALL TODAY 24 HOURS Make Reservations Now on our 24 Hour Reservation Line to Attend a FREE Educational Workshop! SPACE WILL BE LIMITED TO THE FIRST 25 ATTENDEES NO WALK-INS! ESTATE PLANNING WORKSHOPS Tuesday, September 20, 2016 Maggiano’s 600 Commons Way Bridgewater, NJ 08807 11am Prompt! Lunch Provided. Thursday, September 22, 2016 Grillestone 2377 Route 22 West Scotch Plains, NJ 07076 11am Prompt! Lunch Provided. Tuesday, October 18, 2016 Maggiano’s 600 Commons Way Bridgewater, NJ 08807 11am Prompt! Lunch Provided. Thursday, October 20, 2016 Grillestone 2377 Route 22 West Scotch Plains, NJ 07076 11am Prompt! Lunch Provided. NEW ATTENDEES ONLY • If you live in New Jersey and your estate is worth more than $675,000 your family may owe tax to NJ through the NJ Transfer Tax Rules. Learn how your Estate Plan can be set up to protect your family from these unnecessary NJ taxes. • Reviewing your Estate Plan for 2016. Is your will or trust up to date with current law? • How Powers of Attorney and a Living Will can protect you if you become incapacitated. • How to know if a Trust or a Will is adequate to protect your family for 2016 and the Future. • How to avoid the Double Taxation of your IRA & Retirement Accounts. • The Non-Tax Reasons for doing a Living Trust or a Last Will and Testament. “2016 ESTATE PLANNING WORKSHOPS” Learn About the New Tax Laws in 2016 & How They Affect Living Trusts, Wills, Powers of Attorney & Much More... Despite all the news about the Repeal of the Estate Tax in New Jersey, it still exists and if you are a New Jersey resident and your overall estate is over $675,000 at the time of your death, your estate will be sub- ject to the New Jersey Transfer Inheritance Tax. The New Jersey Transfer Inheritance tax is based on the size of your assets and automatically kicks in upon your death if your overall net worth of your estate is over the $675,000 threshold. Most individuals are not aware of this tax and for the few that are they are under the false impression that this tax will not affect them because they do not have that much in the bank. However, your estate encompasses much more than you may think. It can include anything from real estate, to cash, cars, stocks, bonds, life insurance, retirement accounts and even personal effects. For most New Jersey residents this $675,000 threshold is satisfied just alone in real estate and a retirement plan. How can your family avoid the New Jersey Transfer Inheritance Tax? Well for starters, you will want to meet with an experienced estate planning attorney who will recommend certain legal documents that are specifically tailored towards your individual needs and will help you minimize this impact on your estate at death. A use- ful estate planning legal document that the law office of Gail L. Abrams uses is called a Discretionary Living Trust. This is a great document to consider if your estate is over $675,000 because it will help minimize taxes at death. Essentially, upon the death of one spouse $675,000 is shielded from estate taxes and then a second $675,000 is exempted at the death of the surviving spouse. What about Federal Estate Taxes and Income Taxes? It is best to think of Feder- al Estate Taxes as a snapshot of what you own on the date of your death. Essentially in order to be taxed your estate must be over the $5.4 million federal exemption. Most American’s generally won’t be affect- ed by this, however will still end up paying Income Taxes. For instance, if you own real estate and there is a step up from the initial cost basis you will pay income taxes upon your death. What about gifting? In 2016, an individ- ual can gift $14,000 a year indexed for inflation without filing a gift tax return. What does this mean for you and your fam- ily? This means you can continue, if you have not started, gifting to your children large lump sums of money tax-free. More- over, if you are married you can combine your individual $14,000 annual exclusion gifts and gift up to $28,000 per person, per year. If you and your family have not thought about gifting, now is the time to do so. This is an especially helpful tool if your children are looking to put a down payment on a new home or even helping them pay off a student loan. However, in doing so it is cru- cial that you meet with an estate and finan- cial planning professional such as Gail L. Abrams an attorney to help you properly plan for your family’s financial growth and stability. It’s never too late to start planning. The Law Offices of Gail L. Abrams offers Free Seminars on Estate and Financial Plan- ning including Living Trusts, Wills, Powers of Attorney, IRA strategies, Retirement Planning and more. To make a reservation call 908-753-4156 or view our website at www.estateattorneynj.com a nd make a reservation to attend one of these upcom- ing Seminars: Lunch workshops all starting at 11:00am Prompt! RESERVA- TIONS REQUIRED! Only 30 reservations will be taken. This seminar is for new attendees only! Tuesday, September 20, 2016 Maggiano’s, 600 Commons Way Bridgewater, NJ 08807 -OR- Thursday, September 22, 2016 Grillestone, 2377 Route 22 West Scotch Plains, NJ 07076 -OR- Tuesday, October 18, 2016 Maggiano’s, 600 Commons Way Bridgewater, NJ 08807 -OR- Thursday, October 20, 2016 Grillestone, 2377 Route 22 West Scotch Plains, NJ 07076 ESTATE TRANSFER TAX: WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT IT? By: Gail L. Abrams, Attorney At Law www.theconnectionsnj.com