Save Your Wealth, Save Your Taxes
Video Transcribed: Hello, my name is Jason Lile and I am a will and trust attorney in Tulsa. I wanted to talk a little bit today about an issue that people often ask me about when it comes to trusts, and that is why should I have a living irrevocable trust?
One question that I get commonly is, will it help me with my taxes? So if you are the person who wants to draw up the trust and you’re worried about your estate being taxed when you die, or if you are the beneficiary under a trust and the person has already died, or if the person hasn’t died yet and you’re just interested in the information, it’s important to know your estate’s laws because a couple of states have different things, but there are death taxes, sometimes it’s called, or estate taxes.
Right now in 2023, the federal government has set the limit at just about $13 million. So in 2023, if the estate’s not worth more than $13 million, then the estate will neither pay taxes nor will the inheriting individuals. The other thing that you should know is, at least in my state in Oklahoma, there are no state estate taxes either. So if you don’t live in a state with an estate tax, or if you do, then you should look that threshold up in your area.
So trusts don’t really help you avoid taxes, but unless your estate is the size of around $13 million plus, it’s not really an issue for you. We will talk in another video about what exactly trusts do help with, but if you’re concerned about your taxes, you should speak to a tax consultant during your lifetime, or a tax consultant if you’ve inherited somebody’s money, about what the best thing to do about that is if you’re liable for taxes.
Otherwise, come see me or talk to me about drawing up a living, revocable trust. It’s an important thing for everybody to do. It’s a loving thing to do for your family. You can reach me, a living trusts lawyer in Oklahoma, at oklahomawillandtrust.com or at 918-876-4500 and ask for attorney Jason Lile.