The Rabalais Law Firm's La. Estates Blog

Register for 2/19/10 Louisiana Revocable Living Trust Webinar - It's Free

The Benefits and Pitfalls of Using a Revocable Living Trust To

Avoid Probate in Louisiana 

Want to find out the easiest way to transfer your family's possessions to your surviving family members and loved ones with minimal court interference, delay, tax, attorney fees, and family rivalry . Should you attempt to use a revocable living trust to avoid probate in Louisiana? Or should you have a Last Will and Testament, realizing that your family will go through probate when you die. To get answers, register for a free webinar, click the following link: http://www.successionattorney.com/webinar.html

Join me on Friday, February 19, 2010, starting at 2:00pm CST and ending at 2:30pm CST  for a free webinar from the comfort of your home. Please join the webinar at least five minutes before the scheduled start time. A webinar is a presentation that is delivered over the internet and the phone. Attending a webinar is like attending any seminar apart from the place that the event takes place. Once you have logged in you can sit back and listen to the presentation on your phone (or on your computer speakers) while watching it on your screen. During this free webinar, you will discover answers to the following questions:

0. What is a revocable living trust?
0. Since I live in Louisiana , should I have a revocable living trust?
0. Is it true that probate will cost your estate 5% to 10% of its value ?
0. What is the difference between a revocable trust and an irrevocable trust?
0. Will a revocable living trust help me avoid taxes ?
0. How does probate work in Louisiana? 
0. How much money will my family save by having a revocable living trust?
0. Should I put my home in a revocable living trust ?  

This webinar is customized for the lay person  or family that lives in Louisiana and wants to avoid legal, tax, and financial problems before or after death. If you want to avoid leaving your family with legal, accounting, tax, and financial problems, along with unnecessary delays, you won't want to miss this webinar. To register for the webinar, simply click on the link below.

http://www.successionattorney.com/webinar.html

P.S. Forward this webinar invitation email to any other individuals you know who would want to understand whether revocable living trusts are a benefit in Louisiana. With so much confusion out there, they will thank you.

No Estate Tax May Cost Your Family More

Last night, my 82-year old dad gave me an article from the Wall Street Journal. The article addressed how families may pay more in tax if the estate tax is eliminated. It caused me to take a closer look at our two different tax structures.

Let's say, for example, that Dad dies in 2010 with an estate of $3,500,000. His capital gains basis in these assets prior to his death was $500,000.

Under our current law, the family will pay no estate tax. The family will elect to use the $1.3 million step-up so that the total basis is $1.8 million. When they sell the assets for $3.5 million, they will pay approximately $340,000 in capital gains tax ($1.7 million appreciation * 20% federal and state capital gains tax).

If Congress brings the estate tax back with a $3.5 million exemption (and the corresponding step-up in basis), the family will have a total tax bill of $0. No federal estate tax because the estate did not exceed $3.5 million. No capital gains tax because of the step-up in basis at Dad's death to $3.5 million.

No estate tax: family pays $340,000.  Estate tax: family pays nothing.

So perhaps if Congress wants to "tax the wealthy," it should permanently eliminate the estate tax???