Month: October 2019
Be proactive with the anticipated reduction of the estate and gift tax exclusions.
When the clock strikes midnight on December 31, 2012, the “Bush Tax Cuts” are set to expire. Among the many provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) that will be impacted are the estate, gift and generation skipping transfer (GST) taxes. Of most importance...
Acting as a Personal Representative? Make Sure Creditors Receive Notice!
If you are acting as a personal representative (“PR”) of an estate, then one duty is to make sure that creditors of an estate, such as medical providers, ambulance services, credit card companies, etc., receive notice of the decedent’s death so the creditor has the...
You are Acting as a Personal Representative. Does the IRS need to Know?
If you act as a Personal Representative (PR) one of your duties is to make sure that all taxes have been filed and will be filed. Unless very close to the decedent, most PRs have little idea of the decedent’s tax situation and have no idea whether the decedent owes...
Don’t Forget to Plan for a Non-Citizen Spouse!
Under federal tax law, a 100% marital deduction is allowed for assets transferred either outright or in trust for a spouse in lifetime or death. Marital deduction planning encourages lifetime gifts between spouses and transfers at death for surviving spouses. Upon...
Child Support Claim Not Enforced in South Dakota Against Third Party Spendthrift Trust… Is This What Your Client Wants?
In the Matter of Cleopatra Cameron Gift Trust dated May 26, 1998 and the Cameron Family Exempt GST Trust f/bo Cleopatra Cameron, created under the Cameron Family Trust dated December 20, 1996, as amended, the South Dakota Supreme Court determined that a California...
Are Joint Trusts going to be the planning vehicle of the future?
I am currently attending an ACTEC (American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel) seminar in Fort Worth and joint trusts are now a hot topic. When planning to use the estate tax exemption in the past we used separate trusts for making sure each spouse used their...
Does Anyone Know Your Digital Asset Information? Should They?
All of us are well entrenched in the digital world today. We have online accounts, passwords, log-ins, online bank accounts, etc etc. Have you ever thought what would happen if you died or if you became incapacitated? Many people never think of the issues that will...
Don’t Forget One of the MOST Important Beneficiaries of a Probate Estate… The Creditors!!
A recent case reminds practitioners and clients that, while beneficiaries of an estate may not like it, creditors are also beneficiaries of an estate and actual notice should always be made to reasonably ascertainable creditors. Cantero v. Estate of Caswell...
Improper GST Exemption Allocation? PLR Saves the Day!
As previously discussed in a prior blog, the use of the generation skipping transfer tax (“GSTT”) exemption of $11.180 million (the “Exemption”) is very important in planning, as the Exemption saves 40% in GST taxes if properly allocated. What if the Exemption is...
Do you know if your life insurance company has your most recent beneficiary designation form?
Many of my clients “assume” that their beneficiary designations have been properly completed, delivered to the company holding the assets and that all assets will be distributed as they desire. I then ask my client if they are absolutely sure? Most of the time they...