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Simply stated, Family Wealth Management is the ability for family members who have the wealth to pass it along to all other members of the family instead of Uncle Sam (the U.S. Government). Whether you are trying to gift your assets to loved ones during your lifetime or pass them along through your estate after death, proper planning can help minimize Uncle Sam's cut (by minimizing taxes). Our goal, through proper planning, is to use the current tax laws to help you protect and preserve your family's wealth from the tax man and maximize amounts transferred to other members of your family. A lifetime of hard work, saving and smart investing is worth preserving for the next generation.
Intrafamily and Intergenerational Wealth Transfers
JFS Wealth Advisors' family wealth management servcies are customized to your individual situation and can include advice on both intrafamily transfers and intergenerational transfers. We can offer analysis and advice on all of the following issues and how they may apply to your specific situation:
- Unearned Income Rules (Kiddie Tax)
- Family Partnerships and S Corporations (for family owned businesses)
- Gift Leaseback and Sale Leaseback
- Personal Exemptions Allocation (to lower individual taxes)
- Clifford and Spousal Remainder Trusts
- Gifts to Minors and outright gifts to others
- Installment Sales
- Education Funding (for parents and grandparents)
- And, other individually customized strategies
We will explain any or all of the above items and how they can help in your specific situaion, if appropriate. We will also quantify in dollars and cents the difference following the proper advice can make to you and your loved ones.
Grantor Trusts
Trusts are very effective vehicles (legal entities) for helping people achieve certain lifetime financial goals. Many people are not aware that there are a variety of trusts available and that different trusts are taxed differently. Income from one kind of trust is taxed to the grantor (i.e. the person whose assets were used to set up the trust). Income earned by another type of trust is taxed directly to the trust (i.e. the trust itself pays the tax at trust tax rates). While other kinds of trusts have their taxes paid by the beneficiary or some other person or entity.
Our job is to help you understand the different types of trusts available, how each works, and how they may be used to help you make your financial dreams a reality. Since everyone's situation is unique and you have unique wishes, we guide you through the decision making process and recommend the most appropriate trust (if any) according to your circumstances.
Charitable Giving
A common method of reducing income taxes, which ultimately impacts estate and gift tax areas as well, is through the use of charitable contributions. We can help you understand the tax laws that deal with charitable giving including gifting limits and when they apply, and the valuation rules that apply to non-cash gifts.
Divorce Planning
Divorce is not something people need to think about when they are about to say "I do," or is it? As much as we dislike the idea of divorce, everyone is aware that it is a common event in today's world that occurs all too often. As anyone who has gone through a divorce will tell you, it is not only the most emotional and upsetting time of your life, but also a time of great economic uncertainty. While we can not help with all aspects of a divorce (we leave that to the counselors and attorneys), we can help settle the many financial issues. We can help with issues such as alimony, child support, and a fair division of marital assets. Divorce also has many tax implications for both parties, from a change in filing status to the taxability and deductability of assets transferred from one spouse to another. While we are not attorneys, we will work with your attorney and other professionals to make sure assets are fairly valued, so that a fair and equitable settlement can be reached.
If you have questions about our family wealth management services, please feel free to call us for an appointment or email us at info@jfswa.com.
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