By-pass trust

1. Tax Savings – A trust established by the first spouse to die effectively doubles the estate tax exemption. For 2009 the Federal exemption is $3.5 million and the state exemption is $1 million in Maryland. 2. Keep the money in the family – The first spouse to die leaves the money for the survivor [...]

Many of you have seen your estate values cut in half or more while the Federal Estate tax minimum has gone from $2 million to $3.5 million. The feeling is that you do not need to do any estate planning. The problem is that you do not know what the law will be at the [...]