Archive for January, 2009

What will you pledge to do?

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

In his inauguration speech President Obama told our nation that it’s time to make the difficult decisions we have put off in the past, and the sacrifice is needed to achieve a better future.

In the spirit of Obama’s call to action what would you be willing to pledge to do to improve you own future and the future of the country?  The pledge can be in time, money, effort or a combination of those.

Please send me your ideas at mypledge@longfinancialplanning.com.

Look for your ideas on a future post.

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Obama Plans to Keep the Estate Tax

Monday, January 12th, 2009

According to the Wall Street Journal President Elect Obama plans to keep the estate tax vs. letting it expire in 2010 as the current legislation calls for.  He plans to keep the exemption at $3.5MM.

What does this mean for you?  If you die and your net worth is less than $3.5MM you will not have any estate taxes.  If you have over $3.5MM then your will pay a tax of about 45% of the amount over $3.5MM.  There are many exemptions and credits available so that even if your estate is over $3.5MM you may not have to pay tax on some or all of the amount above $3.5MM.

It is likely that this $3.5MM limit will be raised with inflation over time.  Should you already have an estate over the $3.5MM limit or it will be shortly, you should make sure your estate plan is up to date.

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Posted in Estate Planning | No Comments »