Donating majority of estate to non-profits....

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kentucky

My aunt has a will. In that will she is giving the majority of her estate to be divided equally between four different charities/non-profit organizations.

She recently went to a seminar from a company who wants to "help her manage
her will"...and they told her that if she donates the majority of her estate to non-profits,
that the government will take 1/2 of her estate for taxes first.

I truly hope she just heard this wrong, but can anyone here shine a light on a statement like this? Is there anything out there that resembles this statement for the state of Ky?

Thank you in advance,

Ladybyte

I've never heard of companies that "manage wills." Ask her what sort of company it is? Some financial planning outfit? An insurance agent?

Without knowing the size and composition of her estate, it is diffiuclt to give any definite answers.

For federal estate tax purposes, the amount excluded from taxation is now the first $2M, rising to $3.5M in 2009. Whether that will change, who knows.

Kentucky does have an inheritance tax. A guide can be found here:
http://revenue.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/6D844DC9-B300-4EE7-963E-DB141FC0AED6/0/guide_2003.pdf

There are circumstances. mainly large estates where IRA's and other qualified retirement plans are involved and minimal planning has been done, where "..the government will take 1/2 of her estate for taxes first.." is a possibility. But, for most people, what the seminar giver said is a load of BS and nothing but a scare tactic to drum up business. Did they provide lunch or dinner?

Ask the COMPANY or the person who told her that to back up what they say by presenting an example or by giving an illustration--it may or may not be true, but it sounds like BS.

You can help her by getting the name of the company and the people involved and checking them out with the Better Business Bureau and by checking online county court records to see if there have been legal actions against them or not, and also do a GOOGLE on them, and also ask them if they are certified and to provide proof of that.

She can consult with a certified estate planning professional or CPA/tax accountant to get an honest answer to her question and to have her financial affairs set up properly.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])