Here’s something you probably never thought about: Just because someone leaves you money or other assets in a will, that doesn’t mean you have to take it. You can also just say, “No, thanks.” (Actually, you have to do more than that. You have to sign an official document called a “disclaimer.”) Why on earth would someone turn down a bequest? Well, it turns out that in some cases, doing so can save a family money

A health care proxy states who you want to make medical decisions for you if you’re not able to make them yourself. A living will provides a roadmap as to how you want those decisions to be made. It’s a very good idea to create these documents, and to review them on a regular basis. Here are some things to consider: Has your state recently adopted a “standard” health care proxy form? Some states have adopted

If you intend to leave your children equal shares of your estate, don’t forget to consider any money or property held jointly with a child. If you have recently added a child to a bank account, own property jointly with one of your children, or have set up a payable-on-death account with a child as the beneficiary, you might want to revise your will, or at least reconsider how the asset is titled. Here’s why: Property

Many people include charitable gifts in their will. Not only do they want to help certain charities, but doing so can reduce estate taxes. But suppose that at some point, it becomes clear that your estate will likely incur little or no estate tax. You might consider removing all or part of such a bequest from your will, and instead making a gift while you’re still alive. Doing so could give you a large income tax

With the federal estate tax now back in effect – and the possibility that it will apply to estates as small as $1 million at some point in the next few years – many people need to take a second look at their life insurance policies. Life insurance proceeds are not subject to income tax. But what many people don’t realize is that if you own your life insurance policy, then the proceeds will be considered

The federal estate tax is back in effect as of January 1, 2011. As a result of a last-minute compromise in Congress, the estate tax will be temporarily reduced for two years. In 2011 and 2012, the tax will apply to estates over $5 million, at a rate of 35%. However, unless Congress changes the law again, after 2012 the tax will apply to any estate over $1 million, at a rate of 55%. As a

It’s not for everyone, but certain people can save a lot of taxes by making large gifts to family members or others before the end of 2010, and paying a gift tax on the transfer. In general, you can give up to $13,000 to as many people as you like each year without having to pay gift tax. Also, you can give up to $1 million above that limit over the course of your lifetime, and

There are many reasons you might want to leave more assets to one child than to another in your will. One child might have a greater need, or have been more loyal over the years, or have gone out of his or her way to be a caretaker.

A lot of people are converting their regular IRA or old 401(k) plan into a Roth IRA in 2010. That’s because Congress lifted a number of restrictions on these conversions this year. It also gave people who convert in 2010 a special one-time benefit: Rather than reporting the resulting income on their 2010 tax return, they can choose to report nothing for 2010, and then report half the income on their 2011 return and half on

Many older people would like to make significant gifts to their grandchildren, in order to help them and in order to reduce the size of their own estate for tax purposes. But they also worry that the grandchildren won’t be able to handle large sums of money. The good news is that you can give each of your grandchildren up to $13,000 a year without incurring any gift tax. If you’re married, your spouse can also