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Estate planning ensures that your property and assets are passed on to your beneficiaries in a financially efficient way. One important component to estate planning is minimising the taxes that your beneficiaries will have to pay upon your death. Additionally, effective tax planning can also help you to get the most out of your assets during your lifetime.

Let’s take a look at steps you can take to minimise your taxes, both during your lifetime and after your death.

 

Consider Creating a Trust

Trusts are effective estate planning vehicles for many reasons. With a trust, you can provide for children with disabilities, protect assets during bankruptcy or divorce, and make sure that assets pass to children even if the surviving spouse remarries. Additionally, you may be able to minimise your tax burden, especially regarding capital gains and income taxes. 

If you’re considering creating a trust, talk with your Wealth Management adviser about the ramifications. There are many ways to structure trusts, and you’ll want to customise your trust to suit your unique situation. Trusts can be powerful financial planning tools; if you haven’t considered creating a trust, it’s definitely worth looking into.

It’s true that actual death duties have been abolished, but that doesn’t mean that your beneficiaries won’t have to pay taxes on your estate. For example, if your heir takes your inheritance in his or her personal name, then income generated from the inheritance will be taxed at your heir’s personal tax rate. When a testamentary trust assumes the inheritance, there can be significant tax savings.

 

Seek Legal Advice

The costs and benefits of particular estate plans can vary widely from person to person. For example, if you have a family business, your tax implications will be quite different than taxes for a person who doesn’t own a business. If you have capital losses or family debts, your taxes will also be affected. 

This is why it’s important to seek legal and financial advice as you plan your estate. As you work to minimise taxes on your estate, you can also review your insurance, decide on charitable gifts, discuss how superannuation affects your estate, evaluate capital gains, and plan the best course of action for distributing your assets.

To speak with a Wealth Management adviser about your unique estate, contact us at Altus Financial. Our experts can help you to minimise your estate tax burden and answer any other questions.