Did you know that October 19th -25th is National Estate Planning Awareness Week (“NEPAW”) It’s not on my desk calendar either, but it’s true. NEPAW was adopted by the House of Representatives in September 2008, in large part because it is estimated that over 56% of American do not have an up-to-date estate plan. With the increase of an individual’s lifetime gift and estate tax exemption to $5,430,000 (for 2015 and annually indexed for inflation), estate tax planning is taking a back seat for many wealthy families. Estate planning is evolving to be about later in life planning. I will be celebrating NEPAW by exploring a different estate planning topic each week during the month of October as a guest blogger on Jeff’s Blog. Topics will include:
- Accounting for digital assets in your estate plan,
- Estate tax planning focus shifts to income taxes,
- Tax basis planning,
- Planning for retirement income including MRDs,
- Charitable planning
Mike Deering is a tax partner at Mowery & Schoenfeld who specializes in estate and gift planning and taxation. He serves as the Director of Taxes. He is the immediate past-chair of the Illinois CPA Society’s Estate and Gift Committee and also participates on the Board of the Chicago Estate Planning Council.