New Estate Planning eBook by WealthCounsel® Helps Americans Leverage Current Estate Planning Opportunities

MADISON, Wis., Dec. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- WealthCounsel®, a nationwide collaborative organization for attorneys and wealth planning professionals, today announced the release of its new eBook, The Closing Wealth Transfer Window: Post-Election Steps to Take Immediately to Protect Your Family Legacy.  Available for $9.99 at www.estateplanning.com, the eBook provides straightforward, plain-English advice enabling Americans to take advantage of the historic planning opportunities that exist today – some of which may expire December 31, 2012.

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"While the current stalemate over the fiscal cliff and tax reform is frustrating for many Americans, there is still a silver lining for those who opt to take advantage of it," said Matthew T. McClintock, J.D., CEO of WealthCounsel. "Each year our Industry Trends Survey confirms that one of the primary reasons the majority of Americans engage in estate planning is to minimize estate taxes, and I can't think of a better time than now to do just that," McClintock added.

This informative eBook provides a brief summary of the Bush-era tax cuts scheduled to expire on December 31, 2012, explains in simple terms what that means to Americans who plan to transfer assets to their children in the future, and discusses strategies to optimize the record lows in estate and gift exemptions, interest rates, and the real estate and securities markets. These combined factors mean that Americans can do more planning today and incur little or no transfer tax, and that family loans can be made at nominal interest rates.

"If someone you trusted told you that you could transfer all of your property to your children gift tax free through the end of the year, and there was a 50 percent chance this opportunity would not be available in the future, would you transfer your property?" posited eBook co-author Randy Gardner, JD, LLM, MBA, CPA, CFP®, WealthCounsel's Director of Education.  Gardner co-authored the eBook with Leslie Daff, JD, MBA, a WealthCounsel estate planning attorney who practices in Laguna Beach, CA.

In addition to highlighting tax avoidance opportunities associated with the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts on December 31, this eBook also contains numerous tips and advanced planning strategies consumers can use in 2013 and beyond.  For example, Gardner notes that "if you have a large estate that will be subject to estate tax, you may want to purchase life insurance to pay anticipated estate tax so that your assets such as real estate, business, or securities, do not need to be sold to pay the tax. You may also purchase life insurance as an investment, providing a larger, income tax-free inheritance to your descendants for your investment of premiums," Gardner said.

For more information and to purchase the eBook, visit www.estateplanning.com

About The WealthCounsel Companies

The WealthCounsel Companies equip professionals to improve clients' lives through proper planning. Established in 1997, WealthCounsel® is a membership-based organization of thousands of estate and business planning attorneys and wealth professionals located in all 50 states. WealthCounsel shares ownership in ElderCounsel, is the founder of The Advisors Forum, the publisher of EstatePlanning.com, and the creator of the WealthDocx^® Trust and Estate Planning Software system, the nation's leading automated drafting system for trust and estate attorneys.  In spring 2013, WealthCounsel will release BusinessDocx™, a robust drafting system for attorneys engaged in business planning.

SOURCE WealthCounsel