CORONA VIRUS – An Open Letter from Gregory M. Hultgren
Dear Friends,
I have been watching with great concern the growing Coronavirus pandemic. I am fortunate and grateful that those whom I love and care for have been able to avoid contracting this disease thus far.
But I also know that we are not at the end of this pandemic, we are only at the end of the beginning. You see, the recorded population of Ventura County in 2020 is 851,297; yet as of July 24, 2020, we have only 6,223 confirmed cases in Ventura County. So, at the moment, less than 1% of the population of Ventura County has contracted this disease. This is why I believe that we are at the beginning of this pandemic.
It is my conviction that while social distancing and preventative measures will slow the spread of this virus, these measures will not eradicate the illness. Such measures will merely keep our health care resources from being overwhelmed until the pandemic is over.
The painful truth is that until an effective vaccine is developed and distributed or a combination of drugs abate the most severe aspects of this disease, we should expect that these numbers will continue to grow. These facts should place the reality of your possible mortality front and center in your mind prompting you to act prudently and with wisdom.
Why do I share these things? Some of you have used me to create your estate plan. Some of you have used another attorney to do so. In either case, you acted wisely at the time, but I ask you to act wisely now as well. How can you do this? By reviewing your estate plan yourself to verify that it correctly: a) expresses the persons you want to be in charge when you pass; 2) correctly states how you want your estate to be distributed upon your death; and 3) verify that it has current language as the estate and trust laws have evolved significantly over the last 5 years.
If you have not had your estate plan reviewed with your attorney within the last 5 years, I strongly urge you to come to me, or another attorney experienced in estate planning, and review your estate plan now. Your estate plan was designed to help in times like these. All the more reason to make sure that it is in good order before it is needed.
If you visit my offices to assist you, be rest assured that we use social distancing, masks, hand gel, telephone conferences, facetime, and other online meeting options to meet our clients’ needs.
But no matter where you go to meet your estate planning needs, I want you to know that I pray that you all remain well and that an effective response to this pandemic is imminent.
Stay Safe,
Gregory M. Hultgren
Do you know whether California taxes social security benefits? Find out if it does by reading the article below.
https://www.fool.com/retirement/2017/09/10/37-states-that-dont-tax-social-security-benefits.aspx
FOOL.COM
37 States That Don't Tax Social Security Benefits
For those of you that are being bombarded with different perspectives on the new tax law that came into effect in 2018, here is a very good factual breakdown of the changes without much commentary. If you are interested in a review of all income tax changes it is a very good and helpful read.
As for estate taxes, the estate tax for 2018 prior to the the new law already applied to a small percentage of households. Essentially, the 40% estate tax rate applied only to the portion of an estate that was valued at $5.6 million or more per individual, or $11.2 million per married couple.
The new tax law exempts even more households by doubling these exemptions. Now, for 2018, individuals get a $11.2 million lifetime exemption and married couples get to exclude $22.4 million. This won't leave too many families paying estate tax.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/complete-guide-2018-tax-changes-115200441.html
FINANCE.YAHOO.COM
Your Complete Guide to the 2018 Tax Changes
In the article below are eight reasons why Fidelity Investments recommends that you have an estate plan in place. In addition to these reasons, new Med-I-Cal Estate Recovery Laws in California also make it beneficial to have good estate plan in place. Do you have a plan?
https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/personal-finance/do-you-need-an-estate-plan?ccsource=email_monthly&mbox3rdPartyId=eed5ca20f27c0c11d6b90f9bc8b54aaa77&mbox=email-generic-conv&mboxConvType=2&mboxCategory=viewpoints&mboxProduct=tcm:526-83596&target_conversion=1
FIDELITY.COM
Estate Planning: Do You Need One? - Fidelity
On October 19, IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2017-58, announcing inflation adjustments for 2018 which is good news.
First, the gift tax annual exclusion will be $15,000 for gifts made in 2018. This is the amount an individual can give to as many persons in one year he or she wishes without using any of the giver’s estate and gift tax exemption credit. This also means that a married couple can give $30,000 to a person in 2018 without using either of their estate and gift tax exemption credit as well.
Second, for decedents dying in 2018, the combined estate and gift tax exemption will increase to $5,600,000 from its current $5,490,000 in 2017. The generation skipping tax exemption will also increase to $5,600,000.
I like this article on the basics of estate planning from nextavenue. First, it provides a well needed nudge for some to get an estate plan in place through a competent professional, At the same time, it speaks of the importance of not to be "sold" an estate plan. A good uncomplicated read for someone interested in acquiring estate planning services.
http://www.nextavenue.org/put-some-trust-your-estate-planning/
NEXTAVENUE.ORG
Put Some Trust in Your Estate Planning - Next Avenue
