Estate planning: Giving While You're Living

[carol b]

Sponsored By
Motor City Co-op Credit Union

Instead of just leaving bequests to loved ones after you’re gone, consider making gifts while you’re still alive. Giving gifts while you’re still living can help reduce the size of your estate and minimize potential estate taxes. And, with careful planning, you can also limit federal gift taxes.
Tax-free Gifts
Each year, you can give away up to $12,000 in cash or other assets per recipient to as many individuals as you want, gift tax free. If you’re married, you and your spouse can jointly give away $24,000 per recipient (a “split gift”). If you have several children to consider, as well as their spouses, and grandchildren, those annual gifts can really add up and may significantly reduce the size of your estate.
Another way to avoid gift taxes is to pay medical expenses or school tuition for a loved one. There are no limits on the amount of these expenses you can pay, as long as you give the money directly to the medical provider or the educational institutions where the expenses were incurred.

read the rest here:http://members.cunamutual.com/Educat...p?ART_ID=14676

[kst$]

I really like the idea of giving by paying somones medical bills or college tuition.. however I won't have that kind of money until I am gone.. Life insurance.

[carol b]

It would be worth checking into. Alot of the medical bills we owe are bettween 50 and 150 dollars. Hospital copays or emergency room visits. Paying off small bills like these help save peoples credit.

[kst$]

Espeically Our your adults that are just starting out.. There is little or no insurance for them so when they go to the er for help those bills add up fast..

[carol b]

You are absolutely correct there. If the kids don't have full time jobs including insurance when they move out their credit ratings can get ruined before they can establish any credit at all.