Taxes in 2002: Estate Planning

This is the last article in a series about how the new federal tax law can save you money. Today we will take a look at estate planning. The first two articles addressed investing for education and retirement plans.

Taxes in 2002: Investing for Education

Taxes in 2002: Retirement Plans

This year it got a little easier to keep your hard-earned cash in the family. A change in tax laws means the heirs of wealthy parents stand to inherit bigger estates because they'll have to pay less tax to the government upon the death of their parents.

But the changes may require people to revisit their financial plans -- and double-check the details of their wills.

First let's review the changes. Under the new rules, a taxpayer can now give away as much as $11,000 a year free of tax, up from the previous limit of $10,000. Any gift above that amount counts toward the lifetime gift and estate tax exclusion, which increased this year from $675,000 to $1 million. ...