Many people think of estate taxes as a problem just for rich people. But even with favorable legislation last year, even ordinary people need to pay attention to estate taxes.
In the following video, Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool's director of investment planning, explains why ordinary people should pay attention to estate taxes. Dan notes that even with exclusion amounts of $5.25 million, the inclusion of certain property can make taxable estates balloon higher than many people think. In particular, Dan gives the example of life insurance, with many people not taking advantage of the willingness of insurers AIG (AIG -0.04%), Hartford Financial (HIG 0.21%), and other insurance companies to use life-insurance trusts to avoid potential estate-tax ramifications. Dan concludes with discussion of different state laws on estate taxes, pointing out that many states have much lower amounts above which estate taxes might be due.
