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amount is $14,000, so you can gift up to $14,000 to as many individuals as you'd like. • Funding college costs for children and grandchildren. You can make a contribution to a 529 college savings plan, which will be treated as a gift to the beneficiary. You are permitted to advance up to five years of annual exclusion gifts to a 529 plan, putting in as much as $70,000 at once ($140,000 with your spouse). This can remove assets from your estate while preserving your lifetime gift and estate tax exemption. • Making payments directly to educational or healthcare Anthony Cristiano heads the Cristiano Group, a wealth management team at UBS Financial Services in NYC. He is a First Vice President and Portfolio Manager. In addition to his practice advising affluent families and executives, Mr. Cristiano is also a Senior Retirement Plan Consultant at UBS, providing guidance to Corporate Retirement Plans. The primary focus of the Cristiano Group is to provide objective, comprehensive wealth advice to their clients. In conjunction with his firms' world class resources, his team provides a holistic approach to wealth management, one that is inextricably linked to the unique needs, goals and values of each client. Anthony has over 25 years of experience and lives in Franklin Lakes with his wife and 3 sons. WWW.UBS.COM/TEAM/THECRISTIANOGROUP institutions. You can pay an unlimited amount annually on behalf of another person, as long as the payments are made directly to the institution where the expenses are incurred. • Donating to charitable organizations. By making direct gifts to charities or giving through charitable vehicles, like donor-advised funds and private foundations, your charitable impact can last beyond your lifetime and provide you with tax benefits. HELP PROTECT ASSETS AND PRESERVE WISHES WITH TRUSTS A trust can help you preserve your wealth during your lifetime and facilitate the transfer of assets to your descendants or to a charity. There are many different types of trusts, with varying goals that include minimizing estate and inheritance taxes; protecting assets from the consequences of disability, family conflict, spendthrift beneficiaries, bad business decisions or other legal issues; providing for special-needs children throughout their lifetimes as well as minor children or grandchildren; and enhancing privacy, since trust assets avoid probate's public proceedings. Briefly, three trusts often included in estate plans are: • Bypass or credit shelter trust. VUE ON FORTUNE V U E N J . C O M 121

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