As we approach the mid-year mark of 2025, it’s important to assess one’s personal and family situations to determine if their estate plans are up to date. This is especially the case since new laws and regulations affecting estate plans may have gone into effect since the start of the year. Whether you have never created a personalized plan or it’s been a while since you’ve updated it, working with an experienced law firm is critical.
If you live in Mississippi, let the attorneys at Palmer & Slay, PLLC assist you. We can review your current plan or life situation and help you prepare yourself and your family for the future.
Three Important Estate Law Changes
Estate law is a complicated practice area that involves a number of related disciplines such as tax law and business law. Both state and federal rules play an important role in estate planning, and all laws are subject to revisions that may go into effect at any time. These are just three changes to the laws that could affect your Mississippi estate plan:
Estate tax exemption
In 2025, the federal estate tax exemption was raised to $13,990,000 for an individual (double for a married couple). This is the maximum dollar value of assets that a person can leave to their heirs before incurring an estate tax. Estate valued above the limit are taxed at 40% on the amount that exceeds the exemption.
Starting in 2026, the exemption is projected to drop to just $7,000,000. What this means is that an individual can only either give away during their life (or upon their death) $7 million worth of assets before incurring the tax penalty. Our firm can help you explore options for taking advantage of the current exemption and using trusts to prepare for the upcoming adjustment.
Retirement Account Required Minimum Distributions
New required minimum distributions for inherited retirement accounts have gone into effect for 2025. With some exceptions, those who have these accounts must withdraw the total amount within 10 years of the death of the original account holder. If the deceased account holder was required to take annual distributions, then so too must the holder’s beneficiary; otherwise, the entire account must still be withdrawn within 10 years.
If you’re the beneficiary of an inherited retirement account in Mississippi, the time is now to review your account and determine whether you can meet all applicable withdrawal requirements. Failure to do so could cause you to incur penalties. We can assist with this process.
FinCEN Business Filing Deadline
Many estate planners use businesses such as limited liability companies to facilitate their plans. Under the Corporate Transparency Act, there is a new federal requirement for businesses that may not have to file tax returns. If the law affects your business, you must file a Beneficial Owner Information Report (BOIR).
The BOIR must include identifying information for individuals who own at least 25% of the company or who exercise substantial control over it. A business formed before 2024 must file the BOIR by January 1, 2025, and a company that was formed in 2024 must file within 90 days of its formation. Meanwhile, any company formed in or after 2025 has to file within 30 days of formation.
Penalties for missing this deadline can be significant. Whether you have already formed a business for estate planning purposes or you plan to do so in the near future, let us handle this critical component.
Take a Look at Your Estate Plan Today
These are just some of the estate planning changes that either have gone into effect or will soon. If you haven’t examined your plan lately or you don’t have one in place, our Mississippi estate planning lawyers have you covered. You can call or connect with us online to get started today.