CalculatorsEstate Planning
Estate Planning Worksheet
Calculate your estate value, assess potential taxes, and evaluate your estate planning readiness.
Estate Planning Essentials
1Why Estate Planning Matters
Estate planning isn't just for the wealthy. It's about protecting your family, minimizing taxes, and ensuring your wishes are honored.
- ✓Avoid probate: Save time, money, and privacy
- ✓Protect minor children: Name guardians in a will
- ✓Minimize taxes: Strategic planning can save hundreds of thousands
- ✓Healthcare decisions: Ensure your wishes are followed
📊 Key Statistics
- • 67% of Americans don't have a will
- • Average probate cost: 3-7% of estate value
- • Probate timeline: 6 months to 2+ years
- • Federal exemption 2024: $13.61M individual / $27.22M married
2Essential Estate Planning Documents
📜 Last Will & Testament
- • Names executor to manage your estate
- • Designates guardians for minor children
- • Specifies asset distribution
- • Must go through probate court
🏠 Revocable Living Trust
- • Avoids probate entirely
- • Provides privacy (not public record)
- • Can include incapacity provisions
- • More control over distributions
⚖️ Durable Power of Attorney
- • Authorizes someone to handle finances if incapacitated
- • "Durable" means it continues if you're incapacitated
- • Can be immediate or "springing"
🏥 Healthcare Directive
- • Living will: medical treatment preferences
- • Healthcare proxy: designates decision-maker
- • HIPAA authorization: allows access to records
3Federal Estate Tax (2024)
Individual Exemption: $13,610,000
Estates under this amount pay no federal estate tax
Married Couple: $27,220,000
Portability allows unused exemption to transfer to spouse
Tax Rate: 40%
On amounts exceeding exemption
⚠️ Important: The exemption is scheduled to drop to ~$7M in 2026 if Congress doesn't act. Plan accordingly.
4State Estate & Inheritance Taxes
12 states + DC have their own estate taxes with lower thresholds:
• Oregon: $1M
• Massachusetts: $2M
• Minnesota: $3M
• Illinois: $4M
• Maryland: $5M
• Hawaii: $5.49M
6 states have inheritance taxes (paid by beneficiaries):
Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania
💡 Estate Planning Strategies
- • Annual gift exclusion: $18,000/person/year (2024) tax-free
- • 529 superfunding: 5 years of gifts at once ($90K/person)
- • Charitable giving: Reduce estate and get income tax deduction
- • ILIT: Life insurance outside estate
- • GRAT: Transfer appreciation tax-free
- • Family LLC: Valuation discounts on family assets
- • QPRT: Residence at discounted value
- • Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT): Use exemption while retaining access
- • Dynasty Trust: Multi-generational wealth transfer
- • Charitable Remainder Trust: Income now, charity later
Estate Planning FAQs
A will takes effect after death and must go through probate court, which is public, costly, and time-consuming. A revocable living trust takes effect immediately, avoids probate, provides privacy, and includes incapacity provisions. Most planners recommend both: a trust for major assets and a 'pour-over' will to catch anything not titled in the trust.
Yes. Estate planning isn't just about taxes. Even small estates benefit from avoiding probate (3-7% of estate value), naming guardians for minor children, healthcare directives, powers of attorney, beneficiary designations, and family harmony. Plus, 12 states have their own estate taxes with thresholds as low as $1 million.
Review every 3-5 years or after major life events: marriage, divorce, birth of child/grandchild, death of beneficiary, significant asset changes, moving to a new state, tax law changes, or if a named executor/trustee can no longer serve. At minimum, review beneficiary designations annually.
Probate is the court-supervised process of validating a will and distributing assets. Problems include: public record exposure, costs of 3-7% of estate value, timelines of 6 months to 2+ years, potential for disputes, and court involvement in decisions. Assets in a trust, with beneficiary designations, or held jointly bypass probate entirely.
Key strategies include: annual gift exclusion ($18,000/person in 2024), 529 superfunding (5 years at once), charitable giving, ILIT for life insurance, GRAT for appreciating assets, family LLC for valuation discounts, Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT), and qualified personal residence trust (QPRT). Consult an estate planning attorney for your situation.
Retirement accounts pass directly to named beneficiaries, bypassing probate. Spouses can roll over to their own IRA. Non-spouse beneficiaries must generally withdraw all funds within 10 years under SECURE Act rules. Keep beneficiary designations updated since they override your will. Consider a trust as beneficiary for control over distributions.
Yes, if you own the policy. The death benefit is included in your taxable estate if you have 'incidents of ownership' such as changing beneficiaries or borrowing against it. An Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT) removes the policy from your estate. The ILIT must be established 3+ years before death to be effective.
A healthcare directive combines a living will (end-of-life care wishes like life support and feeding tubes) and a healthcare proxy (someone to make medical decisions if you can't). Without these, family members may disagree about care and courts may need to intervene. Everyone over 18 should have these documents.
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