If you move to another state, perhaps because you've found a great place to retire, you may be surprised by the estate tax laws in your new home state. It's a great idea to consult your estate tax attorney and/or tax advisor before making the move so that you know what the effects of your move will be.



Understand that federal estate tax law is a very slippery terrain at the moment. The amount of an estate that is exempt from such taxation currently changes every year, and our legislators continually attempt to change the system even further. To further confuse matters, many states have broken away from federal law and made their own formulas for the size an estate must be before it is taxed. More than a dozen start taxing at a far lower estate ceiling than does the federal government.



It gets even more confusing: Sixteen states, as this is being written, only collect estate taxes. Five states collect inheritance taxes−paid by heirs, not by estates−but do not collect estate taxes. And three states collect both estate and inheritance. The rest do not collect either estate or inheritance taxes.



Worthy of a half hour or so of your estate tax attorney's time? You bet! Indeed, it's always good to run your real estate plans past your tax attorney and advisor long before you act on those plans, and to call upon your real estate and mortgage advisors to help formulate the questions you'll want to discuss with your tax advisor. For more information call Beth at 450-5208.