Hello everyone,
I'm asking for a lot of help here. My mother passed away and my father was listed as the primary beneficiary on multiple accounts. Myself and my sister are contingents on those accounts. To the best of my knowledge, my father would be the one receiving all of the accounts because he is the Primary Beneficiary. However, per my mother's request, he will be splitting everything in 3 (myself, my father, my sister).
What is the best way to do this? I've read briefly that there are taxes related to gifts, and there will be taxes when everything is disbursed to my dad. Are there any other resources for end of life financial documentation that I can review to complete a checklist? What are the best strategies for my father to receive all of the accounts considering taxes?
Thank you very much.
Accounts:
401k – Empower
401k – Fidelity
ESPP/RSUs – ETrade
Home Mortgage (Unsure what to do here…)
Mother Passed, Beneficiaries, Gifts? Next Steps
byu/AmoeboidBoi inpersonalfinance
Posted by AmoeboidBoi
3 Comments
Is Dad going to realistically be giving away >15 *million* during his lifetime? Is his estate going to be > 15 *million* after he dies?
Gift taxation is one of the most wildly misunderstood things.
Actually *paying* a gift tax doesn’t start until that >15 *million* threshold is hit.
*Reporting* a gift has a lower limit, but that’s it. It’s just a *reporting* threshold. Not a *paying* threshold.
The recipient of gifts never pays taxes, because gifts are not income.
The giver of gifts must REPORT any gift over $19,000. That is done by filling out Form 709 come tax time.
The giver of gifts only PAYS gift taxes if they have already gifted over $15 million in their lifetime. So, the vast majority of people never have to worry about paying gift taxes.
The estate attorney can help your father with all of this.
Don’t worry about taxes.