It's hard to imagine that this is my 1,262nd weekly column since its launch in The Greenwich Time and The Stamford Advocate in 1998. Occasionally, I hear from people who tell me they have been reading the column for decades. That's always nice to hear. And, that's my segue into reader questions.

Before I begin, as always, no matter the topic, let me remind you that my comments need to be general in scope. As a result, you will want to talk about your specific situation with your tax adviser or lawyer before taking any actions that we discuss in the column.

No. 1: H.M. raises an interesting question about leaving an inheritance to a relative who receives Social Security disability benefits. Would the inheritance affect those disability benefits?

The source for the answer is a Social Security Administration official, writing in the comments section of a ssa.gov blog (tinyurl.com/yeckuydh): "If you're receiving Social Security disability (SSDI), an inheritance will not affect your benefits." SSDI benefits are not means-tested (tinyurl.com/2aasmjvs).

However, the official pointed out that an inheritance could affect someone receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which is means-tested. See more details about SSI at tinyurl.com/kmtkbuwd. Be sure to contact the SSA at ssa.gov if you have further questions.

No. 2: E.S. asked if she could take her required minimum distribution (RMD) from her IRA and put it in her Roth account after paying the taxes on the RMD for 2022. The answer is maybe.

Let's look at this question carefully. E.S. understands that the RMD she will withdraw from her IRA in 2022 will be taxed when she files her tax return in 2023. That means she is not asking if she can avoid taxes by rolling over the RMD to a Roth IRA (the answer to that question is no).

After the RMD is withdrawn, E.S. can use those funds any way she would like, including contributing to a Roth. But first, she needs to understand and meet Roth IRA contribution requirements. One requirement is to have 2022 earnings (taxable compensation) (tinyurl.com/3psuajpx).

Taxable compensation includes wages, salaries, commissions, tips, bonuses or net income from self-employment. IRS Tax Topic 451 (tinyurl.com/342erczh) provides more information. For more information about Roth IRAs see tinyurl.com/yp6dsx9y.

If her earnings are above a certain threshold, she will not be able to do a Roth contribution. The IRS website provides the details, which are based on filing status (tinyurl.com/3463s63t).

E.S. could also do a Roth conversion by taking more out of her tax deferred IRA above and beyond the RMD she has already taken. Taxes will have to be paid on that distribution in order to do the conversion.

No. 3: D.W. wondered if the SECURE Act (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act) affected the RMDs he was taking yearly from the traditional IRA he inherited from his father in 2018. The answer is no.

Since the SECURE Act's inherited RMD rules are not retroactive to 2018, D.W.'s RMDs are not affected. The rules that applied before the SECURE Act took effect can be found in IRS Publication 590-B for tax year 2019: tinyurl.com/y2d94dxy.

No. 4: The last question has to do with an individual in his 80s who is still working. The reader wants to know if he can contribute to his traditional IRA account at his age. The answer is yes.

There is now no age cutoff on contributions to a traditional or Roth IRA, thanks to the SECURE Act.

Now, let's get back to you. If you happen to be a longtime reader of this column, let me know. I will consider doing a special column to feature you if you would like to share your story. Also, I'm thinking of possibly doing a few webinars on topics covered in the column. Let me know if that would interest you. Email me at readers@juliejason.com.

DISTRIBUTED BY ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

The threshold for federal estate taxes is increasing for 2023. As a reminder, the IRS states that an estate tax is "a tax on your right to transfer property at your death. It consists of an accounting of everything you own or have certain interests in at the date of death" (tinyurl.com/emrfa5jv).

According to the IRS, the estates of those who die in 2023 will have a basic exclusion amount (BEA) of $12.92 million (also known as the filing threshold). That means those estates whose value is below $12.92 million are free from estate taxes. The BEA is up from $12.06 million for deaths occurring in calendar year 2022.

To see what we might expect in the future, we need to go back in history for a moment, to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017.

TCJA increased the exemption amount in tax year 2018 from $5.49 million to $11.18 million. Each year since, this amount has been increasing with inflation, but the exemption amounts won't extend past 2025.

"[I]n 2026, the BEA is due to revert to its pre-2018 level of $5 million, as adjusted for inflation," quoting the IRS Estate and Gift Tax FAQs (tinyurl.com/yc4ahmva). The inflation-adjusted exemption for 2026 would be around $7 million. That's a far cry from the close to $13 million exemption going into effect in 2023.

Unless new legislation is passed to continue the TCJA adjustments, more taxpayers will need to rethink their estate tax planning.

There may be opportunities to take advantage of today's higher exclusion amounts through gifting (usually to family members or causes). That means giving away money permanently to reduce your estate -- something only the high-net-worth would consider doing.

In case you're giving that some thought, one issue is whether you would lose the benefit of current exclusion amounts if the threshold decreases after 2025.

According to the Estate and Gift Tax FAQs: "[P]eople planning to make large gifts between 2018 and 2025 can do so without being concerned that they will lose the tax benefit of the higher exclusion level once it decreases." Final regulations were released by the IRS on Nov. 26, 2019 (tinyurl.com/yrccwacp).

I asked lawyer David Lehn, a partner in the private client and tax team of Withersworldwide, to share his experiences with gifting under these circumstances:

"Once the gifts are made, all future appreciation/income on the gifts also avoids estate tax. With the power of compounding and assuming there are several years between the gift and the individual's death, this can provide an enormous estate tax savings. Further, if the gift is made to a trust, it is possible that the individual may continue to pay future income tax concerning income/capital gains generated by the gifted items. This further 'super charges' the gifts made by potentially greatly reducing an individual's estate tax. It is a combination that anyone with significant wealth should seriously consider."

There are three important points I'd like you to come away with.

First, the good news is that fewer estates will be subject to federal estate taxes. For deaths in 2023, estates below roughly $13 million will pass to heirs free of federal estate taxes.

Second, if you are wealthy and have the capacity to make irrevocable gifts to lower your potential estate tax liability, it's worth your time to call your estate attorney.

Third, since family situations and laws are in flux, I recommend periodic consultations with your trusts and estates attorneys. If the financial "adviser" you work with specializes in the more complex high-net-worth family situations, be sure to include him or her in your review as well.

Finally, on another note, this year's market decline may have you bailing on your 401(k) -- not a good idea. Take a few minutes to tell us why you should stick to your 401(k), even more so at times like this. Do that by applying for the 401(k)Champion Competition, which is a pro bono initiative I sponsor for those who value their 401(k)s and inspire others to save for retirement. Three 401(k) Champions® will receive cash awards of $1,000 each. The deadline for applications is Nov. 17. Go to 401kchampion.com for more details.

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Since there is a billion-dollar lottery in play right now, I thought I'd talk about family offices for billionaires.

In case you bought a lottery ticket, let me tell you about the "family office" you will no doubt want to set up for yourself.

A family office is your own private enterprise, the sole purpose of which is to run the business of managing your money -- (and coordinating family members' interests when a family business is the source of wealth).

You would have a team in charge of tax planning, bill paying, managing investments, charitable gifting, family gifting and handling estate-related issues, among others.

A family office will likely employ CPAs, tax lawyers and money managers, as well as specialists full time or on a consulting basis for certain interests -- for example, if you have extensive real estate holdings or a valuable art collection.

According to the website Family Office Exchange (tinyurl.com/5w73ytht), those who choose to set up a family office typically have at least $100 million in investable assets and decide they want a dedicated team to help provide services and achieve long-term goals.

Ultra-high-net worth families who might have a lower amount of investable assets could consider joining other families in a multi-family office environment instead of a single-family approach.

When we're talking about family offices that are involved in running multigenerational family businesses, family dynamics come into play. Difficulties can arise when family members have diverging interests, according to Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer (co-founders of BanyanGlobal, a family business adviser in Boston, Massachusetts) in a Harvard Business Review piece published in September ("Is Your Family Office Built for the Future?" -- tinyurl.com/2p9ysrva).

The authors described a situation where two brothers were the leaders of the family office after the death of their father, whose business was the source of the family wealth and the reason for setting up the family office.

Conflict over investing decisions, transparency and decision-making authority eventually caused other family members to avoid the situation and led to the family office being disbanded.

One recommendation is to establish rules on how decisions will be made in their family office. Key questions must be asked, including:

-- What decisions will family owners reserve for themselves?

-- What decisions will they delegate to a board or management?

-- How and when will they involve the next generation in making decisions?

Family dynamics and communication also are key considerations when it comes to the long-term viability of a family office, along with how the family defines success. Also, when and how the family owners should share information with the younger generation is an important discussion.

If you are in the position to consider a family office, be sure to do your research. Read the Harvard Business Review article to see where possible conflicts can occur. Reach out to me (readers@juliejason.com) if you have questions.

So, when you win that billion-dollar lottery, don't forget to check out setting up a family office for yourself. Consider who the decision-makers should be, particularly if you share in the finances with a family member who might have divergent interests. Ideally, I'd start with one person in charge (easy for me to say, since I'm an only child).

On another note: There's still time to apply for the 401(k)Champion Competition, a pro bono initiative for those who "love" their 401(k)s. The deadline is Nov. 17. Go to 401kchampion.com for more details.

DISTRIBUTED BY ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION