Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Indiana

Re: State death tax

http://www.state.in.us/dor/taxforms/pdfs/ih-6inst.pdf

This is the link to the Indiana Department of Revenue site for instructions about the inheritance tax form. As you can see, annuities (but not life insurance unless paid to the estate) are subject to taxation. I want to add something about annuities. For a disciplined person, they are almost always a bad deal. You can calculate for yourself. Multiply the principal amount of the annuity by the current government bond rate, and add your total interest and principal. Then compare that number with the total payout on the annuity plus the same government interest rate on the payout. Both annuities and life insurance, even life insurance paid to named beneficiaries, are included in the federal estate tax. Annuities with a named beneficiary (not paid to the estate) are not subject to probate. Congratulations on taking the effort to think about your death. Make sure you are getting your estate planning advice from someone without a dog in the fight. Good luck.