Understanding Estate Planning

by LAURIE SHIGEKUNI

Now that the estate tax exemption amount has risen to $3.5 million per person, most U.S. households don’t have to worry about estate tax any more. The major reason for new middle-income estate planning is to avoid probate, not to avoid estate tax.

However, people who already have trusts may need to unbuild the too-small, too-complex legal boxes that trust lawyers designed to protect assets from estate tax during past years of more restrictive tax laws.

by LAURIE SHIGEKUNI

During the 13 years I have practiced estate planning law, I’ve helped a lot of Niseis. This has been one of the satisfactions of my work.

Other estate planning attorneys and I have shared the observation that Niseis may be comfortably prosperous but are usually not extremely wealthy. I would guess that other people with similar family histories of arrival in this country are richer by comparison. Isseis lost so much wealth during the war. Their children, even in old age, haven’t caught up.

by LAURIE SHIGEKUNI

I’d like to highlight some good estate planning news for readers of the Hokubei who own homes and savings.

The federal estate tax exemption amount increased from $2 million to $3.5 million on Jan. 1, 2009. That is, the estates of people who die in 2009 leaving less than $3.5 million in assets will not owe federal taxes unless the deceased persons made large gifts during their lifetimes.

by LAURIE SHIGEKUNI

For readers of the Hokubei who have lost money in the stock market, I feel your pain. Many of us are in the same boat together.

Given the recent changes in stock market and real estate values, you may wish to look back over any specific gift provisions you may have included in your will or trust.

by LAURIE SHIGEKUNI

Greetings to the readers of the Hokubei Mainichi. Although 2009 is beginning with terrible news about the economy and war in the Middle East, I hope that this year can also be one of hope and renewal.

I think it’s a great Japanese tradition to clean house before the beginning of the new year. At the start of each new year I always feel a great desire for order in my life. One way to get a fresh start on the new year is to make sure your estate planning documents are complete and up to date.

by LAURIE SHIGEKUNI

Estate planning paperwork isn’t as dry as it looks. It has a lot in common with the kind of fairy tale where a hero has a magical key devised to open doors to the treasury.

Think of yourself as having the ability to deliver an extraordinary set of keys to unlock treasure. An estate planner’s work is to make keys that will smoothly open the right doors to ease the inheritance process.

by LAURIE SHIGEKUNI and MARTHA BRIDEGAM

It’s easy to find consumer finance articles that explain why to place a household’s assets in a family trust. The reasons are widely known: to avoid court probate proceedings and possibly estate tax, and to maintain financial continuity despite a death in the family.