Estate Planning Update
Signed into law on December 17, 2010, the Tax Act of 2010 includes provisions that could be of interest to anyone concerned with the status of their estate plans or possibly interested in planning a charitable gift to the University of Hartford.
Chief among the changes made by this new law are:
- Extension of the ability for those over 70-1/2 to make tax-favored gifts to charity directly from a traditional or Roth IRA. Charitable rollovers completed before the end of January can be counted toward the taxpayer’s 2010 federal income tax return for Minimum Required Distributions already taken for 2010, retroactively. Follow this link for more details.
- Gift and Estate Tax exemption increased to $5 million per person, $10 million for a married couple. For at least the next two years, wealthier individuals may want to take maximum advantage of what may be only temporary provisions by giving as much as possible to their heirs during lifetime. Charitable gift planning opportunities for non-spousal beneficiaries that would have previously required the payment of gift tax may now be accomplished tax-free by means of this increased exemption. Please follow this link for more information about Life Income Gifts.
If these recent tax law changes have already prompted you to speak with your advisor about your estate plan, please take a moment to consider how your plans could affect your favorite charities:
- Have you included any charitable bequests in your will or revocable trust?
- Have you updated your beneficiary forms on your IRA, 401k, 403b or other qualified retirement plan?
- Have you arranged to give your least taxable assets to family and your most taxable assets to charity?
- Have you spoken with representatives from your favorite charities about your intentions?
- Have you considered making a gift that provides you with guaranteed life income andx removes assets from your taxable estate?
The University of Hartford would be enormously grateful for any charitable provision you might be willing to include in your updated estate plan. Please consult with your own professional advisor and let us know about your plans or intentions for the University of Hartford. For more information you may contact our Director of Planned Giving, Peter H. Congleton at congleton@hartford.edu or (860) 768-2415.