If you are making a will in Greensboro, North Carolina and are using it to pass inheritances, you may want to think about developing an active gift strategy as well. While you can easily develop an estate plan that focuses on giving gifts through inheritances, developing a living gift giving strategy can provide you with some significant tax benefits. You’ll need to speak to your lawyer about developing a gift giving plan, or determining if such plan is right for you, but here are some tips you can keep in mind.
Focus on individuals.
Giving gifts as a part of an estate plan is all about providing individuals with monetary gifts during your lifetime. Tax laws place a maximum amount you can give every year without incurring tax penalties, but there is no limit on how many people you can give gifts to. Developing a list of your closest family members or friends can help you determine how many gifts you want to give each year.
Know your limits.
Tax laws establish a maximum lifetime amount of gifts you can give, as well as setting a maximum amount you can give each year to each individual without incurring taxes. Never exceed these amounts, and always know how much you have given in relation to your maximum lifetime limit.
Make it a habit.
A good gift strategy is one that you can easily follow. It’s common, for example, to give gifts on birthdays or holidays because these dates occur at the same time every year and they are easy to remember.
