How Can I Model the Death of a Spouse or Partner Before or After Me in My Plan?

To adjust you or your partner’s Life Expectancy milestones:

• On the main plan view screen, hover over the top bar displaying various milestones, or navigate to Settings, then choose Milestones.

Pro tip: Set distinct colors for the Life Expectancy milestones.

• Enter the desired criterion directly into the milestone to adjust the Life Expectancy for yourself and/or your partner.

At the intended year (either the end of your life expectancy or your partner’s), ProjectionLab will automatically transfer the assets owned by you or the deceased spouse to the surviving person.

Tax implications at this milestone include:

• Tax filing status changes from married to single, affecting your federal and state tax.
• Adjustments to the standard deduction, primary residence deduction, SALT deduction cap, and IRMAA thresholds.

Regarding asset basis adjustments:

• Fully owned assets by the deceased spouse receive a full step-up in basis at the time of transfer.
• Jointly owned assets receive either a full or half step-up at the time of transfer, depending on whether you’re in a Community Property or Common Law state.

Learn more about Milestone usage.

For insights on Tax Analytics in ProjectionLab, watch this video.