Check yourself before you Wreck yourself...

Insurance agents and advisers have spent a lot of time worrying about the impact of the Federal Estate Tax. Largely ignored is the impact of state estate taxes. With the federal exemption at $5.3million and unused amounts are portable so they can be transferred to a surviving spouse the impact of Federal Estate Tax is limited so few people actually owe the tax.

Not so when it comes to state estate taxes. Insurance agents and advisers ought to pay closer attention to the estate tax laws in individual states and taking steps to reduce taxes and exposure to state estate taxes.

The are 19 states and the District of Columbia which levy their own estate tax. Some jurisdictions levy both an inheritance tax and an estate tax. States have different estate tax exemptions. For example New York has a $1 million exemption while New Jersey uses the old federal tax credit which limits the exemption to only $675,000. So insurance agents and advisers have a lot of work to do.

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