Gifting money to your adult children is sometimes simpler than many high-net-worth retirees realize. In 2026, the federal lifetime gift and estate tax exemption sits at 15 million dollars per individual, meaning the annual 19,000 dollar exclusion threshold usually just involves whether you need to file Form 709 with your tax return using up some of your $15M limit.

In Episode 7 of Retirement Tax Matters we tackle a critical, yet often emotionally challenging, aspect of HNW retirement planning: the significant tax bracket shock a surviving spouse can face. We reveal how a married couple's ~$250,000 taxable income, typically in the 24% bracket, can jump to a 35% bracket for a surviving spouse due to the shift from married filing jointly to individual rates, compounded by growing RMDs and even higher Medicare premiums.