Archive for March, 2018
IRAs
Saturday, March 24th, 2018
IRAs are one the trickiest assets for estate planning attorneys to handle for many reasons. First, they often are overlooked in the estate planning process because they cannot be transferred during lifetime. This asset, like some other assets, are controlled by beneficiary designation. While the client might remember a large IRA, they often forget smaller […]
Privacy and Estate Planning
Saturday, March 17th, 2018
From the dawn of time, humans have been concerned with privacy. In the biblical story of Adam and Eve, the couple sought the privacy provided by fig leaves as they left the Garden of Eden. When species Homo sapiens emerged, privacy was essential to protect against predators. In today’s world, privacy is more important than […]
Portability vs. Credit Shelter Trust
Saturday, March 10th, 2018
Prior to the advent of “portability,” estate planning attorneys used a “credit shelter trust” as the gold standard to preserve the estate tax exclusion of the first spouse to die. Assets up to the exclusion were placed in the trust for the benefit of the surviving spouse and descendants. The assets in this credit shelter […]
Portability
Saturday, March 3rd, 2018
When a decedent dies, a federal estate tax return (IRS Form 706) is not required to be filed unless the decedent’s gross estate exceeds their remaining federal estate tax exclusion. In 2017, for someone who has not used any exclusion during life, this would be $5.49 million. However, this does not mean filing an estate […]