Month: April 2018
Giving gifts to family and charity while you’re alive can be a boon to them – and your estate.
Estate planning isn’t just about how you want your assets distributed after you die. It’s about deciding how much you want to give away while you’re still alive. If you plan carefully – so you don’t outlive your assets – giving allows you to reduce your taxable estate and provide advance help to your beneficiaries.
There are two easy ways to give gifts without incurring the gift tax:
You may pay an unlimited amount in medical or educational expenses for another person, if you give the money directly to the institutions where the expenses were incurred. You may give up to $13,000 a year in cash or assets to as many people as you like.
Anytime you give more than $13,000 annually to any one person you must file a gift-tax return and the excess amount will be applied toward your lifetime gift-tax exclusion of $1 million.
If at any point your gifts exceed that exclusion, you will have to pay gift tax on the excess amount. There is some good news in that regard. The top tax rate on gifts is gradually declining and will fall to 35 percent by 2010.
Keep in mind, too, that gifts you give within three years of your death that exceed the lifetime gift-tax exclusion will reduce the amount of money you may leave to your heirs free of federal estate taxes, according to certified public accountant P. Jeffrey Christakos of First Union Securities in Westfield, N.J. For example, if you give away $100,000 more than your lifetime exclusion within three years of your death, your estate-tax exemption will be reduced by $100,000.
If you want to invest in a 529 college savings plan for a beneficiary, contributions are treated as gifts. You may put in as much as $65,000 in one year ($130,000 with your spouse), but that contribution will be treated as if it were being made in $13,000 installments over five years.
That means you can’t give any more money to that beneficiary tax-free during that five-year period. Should you die before the five years are up, part of the money you gave will be included in your taxable estate, specifically the $65,000 minus $13,000 for each year you were alive.
The tax consequence of making large gifts can get complicated. So if you have a large estate, consult with your financial or tax planner to see how much giving you can do without triggering a big tax bill. Charitable donations are another way to reduce your estate. By investing in charitable gift funds and community foundations, those donations can stretch beyond your death.
Charitable gift funds, which are offered by Fidelity, Vanguard and others, permit you to make a tax-deductible donation, grow your investment tax-free, and then direct a contribution – in your name – to nonprofits of your choosing whenever you like.
Community foundations are regionally based charities that take donations of as little as $5,000 in cash, stock or property. The foundations invest that money, pool the gains, and allocate grants, usually to local nonprofits. In most cases, you may either have the foundation give money to organizations you choose or ask the foundation to locate a worthy recipient for a cause you like.
You also can set up what’s known as a charitable lead trust, from which a charity receives the income and your heirs the principal; or a charitable remainder trust, in which your heirs get the income and the charity gets the principal.
Dont you just love giving a gift to someone knowing that when they open it theyre going to go WOW!? Its fun. Its exhilarating. Its what gift giving is all about, or should be. Fortunately most gifts are given out of love. And when youre giving a gift to someone you love you usually find that its more of a blessing to give than to receive.
If youve been thinking about giving someone a photo book as a present, thats a great idea. They make excellent gifts, especially if done right. Maybe you already have a plan in mind, but just in case you dont, you may want to consider the following:
1.Pull together approximately 100 photos that you have reason to believe would be of real interest to the gift recipient. Maybe theyre in many of them, or their children are. Maybe theyre of a vacation they really enjoyed. 2.If you dont have the photos yet, plan an event that would provide a great opportunity to take a lot of pictures, such as a day at the zoo, or a vacation. 3.Once you have about 100 photos to pick from, choose the best ones (40-50), and arrange them in an order that tells the story of that day or vacation. 4.Come up with a good title for your photo book, and decide what pictures you want to add captions to.
With the 40-50 best photos loaded into your computer, and the title and captions that you want to include all written out and at hand, youre ready to put it together. Its simple. Its a lot of fun. And youll be blown away when you see the final product. Even better news, so will the person you give the photo book to.
All you have to do is go online to modern greetings sites, and follow their easy to use exclusive 3-step interface.
1.Pick A Design- Browse their unique designs until you see the perfect photo book for you. Transfer your photos into the pre-made templates in the order you want. 2.Personalize- Change the text to fit your needs by giving your book a title and adding captions wherever you think it helps to best tell the story behind the photos. 3.Order- They make ordering fast and easy, so a few tweaks until your eyes light up, and click order.
Thats all there is to it. The technology does all the hard part for you (giving it the look and feel of a really classy and professionally done book), but your personal choices and combinations are what dictate the results, and thats all you.
When you give your customized and personalized photo book to your loved one, youll be giving them a fabulous gift that they will cherish for the rest of their lives.
In more than fifty different countries, millions of people celebrate Mother’s Day, on various days of the year, in different ways, but they all celebrate this day with true love for their mothers and with beautiful flowers and gifts.
In the United States, Mother’s Day was loosely inspired by the British day and was introduced by public activist Julia Ward Howe after the American Civil War. The first flowers selected by Anna Jarvis were light pink carnations as the symbol of charm, purity and patience of all mothers. Pink, white, yellow and purple flowers are most common colours for Mother’s Day flowers. Each colour and flower has its own, unique meaning on Mother’s Day.
The most popular flowers given to mothers are wild spring flowers, such as tulips, daffodils, gerberas, sweetheart roses and chrysanthemums. With so many flower choices available today, there are no rules – it’s the feeling that gives the gift its meaning.
Here is a summary of the most trendy flowers and their meanings:
Alstroemeria: wealth and prosperity, symbolizes strong bond with another person
Pink carnation: a woman’s love, I will never forget you, mother’s love.
Pink rose: perfect happiness, please believe me
Daffodil: you are the only one, regard, rebirth, new beginnings, unrequited love; you’re the only one, chivalry.
Iris: wisdom, your friendship means so much to me, faith, hope, valour, and my compliments.
Orchid: rare beauties, love, refinement, beautiful lady, Chinese symbol for many children, mature charm, beauty, long life.
Azalea: love, romance and fragile passion, temperance. It is also the Chinese symbol of womanhood.
Gladiolus: strength of character
Lily: Majesty, wealth, pride, innocence, purity.
Stock: lasting beauty, bonds of affection, promptness, you’ll always be beautiful to me
Sunflower: a statement of pure love, longevity, and adoration
Tulip: pink caring, purple royalty, red – declaration of love, white forgiveness, yellow – hopelessly in love When choosing the right flower for Mother’s Day, think about a flower or colour that might remind them of a special event or moment in their lives. Whether your mother is just couple miles away or on the other side of the earth, it is easy to buy flowers with todays technology. The question is what would you like to say to your mom?
You have just been invited to share a wonderful moment in someones life, this baby shower is an important milestone and something the expected mother will treasure for a lifetime. What do you baby gift do you give as a present? You do not want to be like every other guest and buy the same essentials like baby diapers, wipes, or pyjamas. You are looking for a gift that is unique, incomparable and something that will last the test of time.
Of course, these things take time and you could be looking around several shopping centres, malls and department stores before you find anything relevant or unique. A solution is right in front of you, the internet. A distinctive gift does not have to be time consuming or cost a small fortune. Unique baby gifts like beautiful baby bouquets, stylish baby clothing, vibrant toys, practical hampers, and so much more are wonderful baby shower gifts ideas that will be sure to please the new mum and baby.
Elegant baby bouquets with everything from basic baby clothing like hats, socks, bodysuits, and pants to fluffy and soft stuffed animals offer the new mum items that she can use. Bouquets in assorted designs are unique baby gifts that offer more than a gorgeous display, but also offer useful items. Bouquets can include wipes, diapers, clothing, toys, and anything and everything you could think of in an attractive arrangement. Practical gifts are the best gifts to receive, but the gift does not have to be presented in boring ordinary wrapping paper and a boring bow.
The gift does not have to be as generic as clothing either. A few baby shower gifts ideas include keepsake frames, a pregnancy book with the weekly pregnancy progress and humorous jokes to make any mother laugh. There are also lotions and creams that are soothing, calming and relaxing for the tired mother. There is a long list of gifts that do not have to be boring or typical.
Even baby clothing does not have to be the usual pyjamas and one pieces. There is a wide range of baby clothing that any new mum would be excited to receive. Stylish high quality clothing that is comfortable and long lasting is important. Certain details that are worth considering are turn cuff feet for extended wear, snap buttons for effortless dressing and undressing, and envelope necklines for speedy dressing.
All these baby gifts can be for the eager parents-to-be, for the expecting grandparents, or for the new parents and newborn baby. All of which you can find online, now how easy is that!