If you intend to leave your children equal shares of your estate, don’t forget to consider any money or property held jointly with a child. If you have recently added a child to a bank account, own property jointly with one of your children, or have set up a payable-on-death account with a child as the beneficiary, you might want to revise your will, or at least reconsider how the asset is titled. Here’s why: Property

Many people include charitable gifts in their will. Not only do they want to help certain charities, but doing so can reduce estate taxes. But suppose that at some point, it becomes clear that your estate will likely incur little or no estate tax. You might consider removing all or part of such a bequest from your will, and instead making a gift while you’re still alive. Doing so could give you a large income tax

With the federal estate tax now back in effect – and the possibility that it will apply to estates as small as $1 million at some point in the next few years – many people need to take a second look at their life insurance policies. Life insurance proceeds are not subject to income tax. But what many people don’t realize is that if you own your life insurance policy, then the proceeds will be considered

The federal estate tax is back in effect as of January 1, 2011. As a result of a last-minute compromise in Congress, the estate tax will be temporarily reduced for two years. In 2011 and 2012, the tax will apply to estates over $5 million, at a rate of 35%. However, unless Congress changes the law again, after 2012 the tax will apply to any estate over $1 million, at a rate of 55%. As a