Pines Wealth Management

Most people assume that a spouse's unused estate tax exemption passes to the surviving spouse automatically.

It doesn't.

Claiming it REQUIRES A FILING WITH THE IRS within 9 months of a spouse's death.

The IRS doesn't send a reminder. The deadline just passes.

A six-month extension is available, bringing the total window to 15 months. But the clock starts the day your spouse dies, not the day you think to ask about it.

This is exactly the kind of detail that gets lost in the fog of grief and estate administration.

It's also exactly the kind of thing we watch for on behalf of the families we work with. We also help families by working with their tax, legal, and accounting professionals to make certain that paperwork is completed in a timely manner.

More home sellers are taking listings off the market as housing conditions continue to shift.

In April, 5.8% of home listings nationwide were pulled from the market, tying December for the highest share of delistings since March 2020. Delistings were also up 3.8% from March.

Several factors may be contributing to the trend, including elevated mortgage rates, higher household costs, and softer buyer demand.

Some sellers may be choosing to wait rather than accept lower offers or longer timelines. At the same time, buyers in certain markets may have more negotiating room than they did in recent years.

Inventory has also been rising in some areas, with more listings sitting on the market for longer.

Together, these shifts point to a housing market where expectations between buyers and sellers may take time to reset.

Sellers are pulling homes off the market at the fastest pace since 2020 Frustrated sellers are pulling their homes off the market at an increasingly high pace, as demand weakens and bidding wars wane.