The Listen to Lawrence Letter: Santa CLAUSE is coming to town…

READER QUESTION:

“If an estate is worth more than the $7.35 million New York estate tax exemption, is there any way to give money to charity instead of paying it to New York State in taxes?”

MY RESPONSE:

My first reaction is simple: isn’t New York State the best charity you can think of? 😊

But in all seriousness, the answer depends entirely on timing.

If the planning is done before death, the answer is yes…very easily.

A Will can be drafted to provide that any assets in excess of the New York exemption pass to charity.  Because charitable bequests qualify for an unlimited charitable deduction, those amounts are not subject to estate tax. In other words, dollars that would have gone to Albany can instead go to a cause you actually care about.

We often refer to this type of provision as the “Santa Clause”, anything over the exemption goes to charity.

The key takeaway: if you don’t plan, the State benefits.  If you do plan, you get to decide who benefits.

And, if anyone you know would like to

receive this Listen to Lawrence Letter

tell them to send their email address to info@davidowlaw.com and I’ll add them to the list!

As always, please send your questions in! If you are thinking about it, others are probably too, so my answers will no doubt help you and many others.

Let’s stay connected. Stay safe!