What is a Durable Financial Power of Attorney?

A Durable Financial Power of Attorney lists the person (or persons) you trust to appoint as your Agent(s) or Attorney(s)-in-Fact to make financial decisions for you when you cannot make those decisions for yourself.  A Durable Financial Power of Attorney can be drafted to take effect immediately upon signing or only after you become incapacitated.  A Durable Financial Power of Attorney can be very important for you and your loved ones in the event of incapacity.

What is an Ohio Health Care Power of Attorney?

An Ohio Health Care Power of Attorney lists the person (or persons) you trust to appoint as your Agent(s) or Attorney(s)-in-Fact to make health care decisions for you when you cannot make those decisions for yourself.  An Ohio Health Care Power of Attorney can be especially beneficial when preparing for a major hospital procedure, like childbirth or surgery.

What is an Ohio Living Will Declaration?

An Ohio Living Will Declaration is only applicable when you are terminally ill or  permanently unconscious.  An Ohio Living Will Declaration documents your wish that life-sustaining treatment, including artificially or technologically supplied food and water, be withheld or withdrawn if you are unable to make informed medical decisions and are terminally ill or permanently unconscious.  An Ohio Living Will Declaration does not affect the responsibility of health care personnel to provide comfort care to you.  Comfort care means any measure taken to diminish pain or discomfort, but not to postpone death.  In the Ohio Living Will Declaration you can also list the people you would like notified in the event it is determined that life-sustaining treatment should be withheld or withdrawn.

What is an Estate?

An Estate is all property and debts of a deceased person (a.k.a. the "Decedent").

What is a Probate Estate?

A Probate Estate consists of the Decedent's property that must be transferred to the correct beneficiary under the supervision of a Probate Court.

What is a Will?

A Will is a communication by you stating how you want to dispose of your property at your death and also naming Executors of your Estate and Guardians for your minor children.

What is a Trust?

A Trust is an interesting legal concept.  A Trust is created when you "entrust" someone (a.k.a. the "Trustee") with your property.  You can create many different types of Trusts for various purposes.  Probably the most well-known type is a Revocable Trust (or a Revocable Living Trust) which you can create during your life and can revoke at any time before your death. 

Who is an Executor?

An Executor is a person named in your Will to be appointed by the Probate Court to administer your Probate Estate.

Ohio Estate Tax is levied on the Taxable Estate of a Decedent who is an Ohio resident at the time of death (and on the Taxable Estates of certain Ohio non-residents) and whose Taxable Estate is over $338,333.  An Ohio Estate Tax Return must be filed when the value of the Decedent's Gross Estate exceeds $338,333 even if no Ohio Estate Tax is due.  Gross Estate includes the value of all property owned by the Decedent on the date of death and is, usually, larger than the Taxable Estate.  The highest marginal rate of the Ohio Estate Tax is currently 7%.

What are Federal Estate Tax and Federal Estate Tax Return?

Federal Estate Tax is levied on the transfer of the Taxable Estate of a Decedent who is a Citizen or resident of the United States at the time of death and whose Taxable Estate is over $5,000,000 if death occurs in 2011 and over $5,000,000 (indexed for inflation) if death occurs in 2012.  A Federal Estate Tax Return must be filed when the value of the Decedent's Gross Estate exceeds these amounts even if no Federal Estate Tax is due.  The highest marginal rate of the Federal Estate Tax is 35% for the years 2011 and 2012. 

What are Federal Gift Tax and Federal Gift Tax Return?

Federal Gift Tax is levied on the Taxable transfers of property by Gift made during each calendar year by any individual (a.k.a. the "Donor"), whether resident or non-resident of the United States.  Not all transfers of property by Gift are Taxable.  For example, every calendar year any Donor may give up to a certain amount (other than a gift of future interest) to one other individual (a.k.a. the "Donee") free of the Federal Gift Tax.  This amount is generally called Annual Gift Tax Exclusion and is $13,000 for the year 2010.  Certain transfers for educational or medical expenses are also non-taxable.  Under the law in effect for the years 2011 and 2012, during life any Donor is allowed to transfer up to $5,000,000 of property by Gift free of the Federal Gift Tax.  However, if in any calendar year all of the Gifts made by any one Donor to the same Donee exceed the allowable exclusions, then a Federal Gift Tax Return must be filed for that calendar year even though no Federal Gift Tax is then due.  The rate of the Federal Gift Tax is 35% for the years 2011 and 2012.

What is Federal Generation-Skipping Transfer ("GST") Tax?

GST Tax is levied on every Taxable property transfer that "skips" a generation.  For example, certain property transfers by a Donor or a Decedent to grandchildren (or more remote generations) may be subject to GST Tax.   Property transfers up to the following amounts are exempt from GST tax: $5,000,000 for property transfers in 2011 and $5,000,000 (indexed for inflation) for property transfers in 2012.   The rate of GST Tax is 35% for the years 2011 and 2012. 

IRS Circular 230 Notice

To the extent that this message and/or any attachments concern tax matters,  they are not intended to be used and cannot be used by you for the purposes of avoiding penalties that may be imposed by law.