Now that the election is behind us and we have a Democratic President, House & Senate we can begin to speculate how this political climate will affect the estate tax or death tax as it is commonly referred to.
During the campaign there was much talk about eliminating the “Bush Tax Cuts” and “Redistributing the Wealth”. This leads me to speculate that the new administration and congress may return the estate tax to it’s prior levels of a maximum tax rate of 55% with a credit of only $1,000,000. This step would promote the ideas put forth in the campaign and provide additional tax revenue for all of these projects Mr. Obama wants to promote.
For the rest of us hard working entrepreneurs, it could mean disaster without proper planning. Lets first look at what’s included in the “Estate”: all of your assets, including real estate, businesses, personal effects, cash and accounts, and one people often forget, life insurance. For many of us it is life insurance that will put us over the top on estate tax. Ironically, life insurance is one of the best and easiest tools to combat this potential shift in the death tax. Through the use of Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts we can reduce or eliminate the estate tax burden on our families. Please go to www.dickersonlaw.com/inforequest.html for more information on life insurance trusts. Or contact me at 956-791-5422 or by email jmd@dickersonlaw.com
November 10th, 2008
I just got back from a week in Polebridge Montana, just 6 miles from the Canadian Border. A buddy and I went to visit a friend who has a cabin there. The people are very interesting and unique. It was great to see how people are on the Northern Border.
We made some friends, like Greg and his brother Dan from Home Ranch Bottoms, (where you can get a hot shower for $7 or just get a cold beer) our fishing guide Nate, who knows where the fish are biting, and my friend’s realtor Allan who woke us up one day (by accident) so we could get some work done before heading out on some sightseeing.
Hiking is great in Glacier National Park. Bowman Lake was our starting point and we almost got to the lookout, but we ran out of time. On the way back I took a tumble and hobbled for a few days after. Thanks to that our hiking was reduced quite a bit.
Fly fishing on the North Fork of the Flathead River is great. Being my first time fly fishing, I proved that you don’t need to know what you are doing to catch fish. We caught many fish that day. I am sure our guide Nate is the true reason for our luck.
We explored the nearby towns on the remaining days, including Columbia Falls, Kalispell, and Whitefish. Unfortunately from our cabin, drive times were about two hours each way and roads were mostly unpaved. We also helped my friend make some improvements to his cabin, connecting to a new generator and installing a water heater.
All in all it was a great time, and a great escape from the real world. I am looking forward to getting away again.
August 14th, 2008
This is the first DickersonLaw blog. My business involves helping clients build and preserve wealth through estate and business planning.
Throughout the month of July I am offering a promotion for my book The Road Map to Rich. For every book purchased on my website, I will donate a portion of the profits to the Boy Scouts of America, South Texas Council, Aztec District. You can purchase your copy at www.theroadmaptorich.com.
I look forward to continuing this blog and keeping you up to date on what is going on. Before that I encourage you to look at my latest newsletter at my website dickersonlaw.com. Until Next Time.
July 18th, 2008
