Federal estate tax planning determines how much of your estate reaches your family and how much goes to the Internal Revenue Service, and Eden Law Group, P.A. helps Citrus County households plan wisely.
Your estate includes everything you own and control at the time of your death: your home, bank accounts, investments, business interests, and personal property. The federal estate tax is a tax the IRS levies against the value of that estate before it passes to your beneficiaries.
Florida does not impose its own estate or inheritance tax, so residents of Inverness and Citrus County only need to plan around the federal system. Even so, that federal exemption amount changes over time, and estates that grow through real estate, retirement accounts, or a family business can cross the threshold faster than expected.
An experienced estate planning attorney reviews your full financial picture and structures your plan so that as much of your estate as legally possible passes to the people and causes you care about, rather than to taxes.
Sound estate tax planning starts with knowing where your estate stands today and where it is likely headed. A knowledgeable estate planning lawyer will look at several factors before recommending a strategy, including:
Many married couples assume that simply leaving everything to each other, and then to their children, is good planning. In reality, without proper structuring, a surviving spouse’s estate can end up using only one spouse’s exemption instead of both, leaving millions of dollars exposed to federal estate tax at the second death. Two tools address this problem, and choosing between them is a central part of estate tax planning:
Proper planning does more than reduce a future tax bill. It gives your family clarity, avoids unnecessary delays, and protects the legacy you have spent a lifetime building.
Clients frequently ask about how the federal estate tax works and how it applies to their own situation. Here are answers to some of the most common questions we hear at our Inverness office.
What is the current federal estate tax exemption amount?
Does Florida charge its own estate tax on top of the federal tax?
Can my spouse and I use both of our exemptions?
How does a revocable living trust help with federal estate tax planning?
Federal estate tax planning works best alongside the right foundational documents and a clear understanding of your options. Explore the related services below to see how each piece fits together.
Federal estate tax planning becomes more valuable every year your estate grows, and the sooner you put a plan in place, the more options you have. Attorney John H. Eden IV has guided Citrus County families through estate tax planning, trust funding, and asset transfers into trusts for over 34 years, and your first consultation is free of charge.
