Month: August 2020
A Beneficiary Has an Interest in a Trust… Are Those Assets Included in a Divorce Equitable Settlement?
Many parents create trusts which benefit their children and grandchildren. Often, the trustee’s decision as to what to distribute to a child or grandchild is fully discretionary. Alternatively, the trustee can be directed o distribute for health, education,...
WHEW! Relief For Co-Executors Whose Attorney Did Not Elect Alternate Valuation…
A Form 706 is required for a taxable estate or for an estate electing portability. Generally, assets are valued as of the date of death to determine an estate tax. The Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) grants a relief provision if, for example, the stock market...
Is It Tenants By The Entireties Ownership (“TBE”)?
Tenants By the Entireties ownership (“TBE”) is a form of joint tenancy ownership in real or personal property between a husband and wife. Four “unities of title” are required for joint tenancy ownership: (1) unity of interest (each joint tenant must have an equal...
Act Soon…Discounted Gifts Will Become Harder…
Individuals and their attorneys are very creative when planning to reduce estate taxes. One technique is to transfer an interest in a family owned family limited partnership (“FPL”), at a discounted value, to a family member while keeping the entity in the family....
Be Careful Who You “Friend”!
A recent email from my colleague, Joe Corsmeier, who writes an excellent blog on lawyer discipline and various ethics opinions, points out an issue of which practicing lawyers need to be aware. In a recent Miami case, a motion was made to recuse a judge because the...
Do You Know What Happens to Your Assets if a Beneficiary Dies Before You?
In Doreen’s Last Will and Testament she devises “$10,000 to my daughter, Sally”. What happens to the devise if Sally dies before Doreen? The devise “lapses” and is distributed pursuant to Sally’s residuary clause in her Last Will and Testament, perhaps in a way that...
Another Reason to Keep Harmony in the Home 🙂
Generally under Section 732.802 of the Florida Statutes (the “Slayer Statute”) if someone murders another person, the murderer can NOT inherit from the person they murdered. That makes sense but what happens when the murdered person left assets to the murderer’s...
The Intersection of 529 Plans and Trust Law…Do They Collide or Work in Tandem?
The Intersection of 529 Plans and Trust Law… Do They Collide or Work in Tandem? In the recent Iowa case of Alberhasky v. Alberhasky, a trustee changed the beneficiary of a 529 Plan which was created with funds from a trust. The primary issue was whether the trustee...
Voiding of QTIP Election May Save Gift Taxes…
Instead of an outright distribution to a surviving spouse, estate planners often advise that assets be distributed to a qualified terminal interest property (“QTIP”) trust for the benefit of the surviving spouse. This planning occurs often in a second or third...