Portability is Helpful for Spouses, but Currently only for 2011 and 2012
The majority of tax provisions in the 2010 Tax Act are only in affect for 2011 and 2012, leaving most wondering what will be in place beyond 2012. One of the provisions that are only temporary is portability. The 2010 Tax Act increased the exemption to $5 million and decreased the tax rate to 35%. The new rules for portability permit spouses to share their estate tax exemptions. It allows a deceased spouse to transfer their remaining unused exemption to the surviving spouse, which can be added to his or her own exemption. If having survived more than one spouse, the surviving spouse is limited to $5 million or the unused amount of the last deceased spouse, whichever is lesser. This applies only to spouses that passed away in 2011 or 2012. Currently, this portability rule only applies until the end of 2012, so do not use the portability option as a reason to not create an estate plan.
To learn more about this article, visit Your Finances: Portability rules let spouses share estate tax exemptions.
For more information on estate planning, please contact an estate planning attorney ofWood, Atter & Wolf, P.A., in Jacksonville and Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
