WHO PAYS ESTATE TAXES?

Assets that are transferred to either your spouse (if he or she is a U.S. citizen) or to charitable organizations are not subject to estate taxes.

Assets passing to other individuals will be taxed if the net value of those assets -- in 1999 -- is $650,000 or more.

Under current law, that amount will increase, in uneven increments, to $1,000,000 in 2006.

For estates which approach or exceed this value, significant estate taxes can be saved by proper estate planning. That planning must usually be accomplished before death and, in the case of married couples, before the death of the first spouse.

While estate planning generally focuses upon estate taxes, planning must , it also take into consideration income, gift, property and generation-skipping taxes as well. Qualified advice about taxes should be obtained during the estate planning process.