We are now in a completely different estate tax environment ripe for the cruelest trap of all: where the standard language of traditional wills and trusts forces too much money (now up to $5,000,000) into a trust limiting
the surviving spouse to income and the right to invade principal for health, maintenance and support. If the trust is overfunded, which is likely under the new law, less discretionary income is available for the surviving spouse. Furthermore, if this common trust is the beneficiary of an IRA or retirement plan, massive income taxes are also triggered—all this can be avoided with appropriate language in wills and trusts and appropriate beneficiary designations of IRAs, Roth IRAs and retirement plans.
Under the new estate tax laws, older traditional estate plans are not helpful, but harmful, because of the severe restrictions they place on the surviving spouse, something most couples do not want. Fortunately, there is an appropriate response, but few estate attorneys or advisors know it—Lange’s Cascading Beneficiary Plan™. His book, Retire Secure!, describes this plan in detail and is endorsed by Charles Schwab, Jane Bryant Quinn, Larry King and dozens of financial professionals.
Learn more about the solution to the problem; Lange’s Cascading Beneficiary Plan™—it puts the surviving spouse back in the driver’s seat instead of being held hostage by an unnecessary trust.
James Lange, CPA/Attorney is a nationally-known Roth IRA and retirement plan distribution expert. He’s also the best-selling author of the first and second edition of Retire Secure! and The Roth Revolution: Pay Taxes Once
and Never Again. With over 30 years of experience, Jim offers unbeatable recommendations.
Jim’s recommendations have appeared 30 times in The Wall Street Journal, 23 times in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, The New York Times, Newsweek, Money Magazine, Smart Money and Reader’s Digest. His articles have
appeared in The Journal of Retirement Planning, Financial Planning, The Tax Adviser (AICPA), and other top publications.
For more information or to contact Nicole DeMartino call 412.521.2732 412.521.2732 or
[email protected].