FLORIDA ESTATE PLANNING AND PROBATE LAW BLOG: June 2017

GOVERNOR SCOTT SAYS NO TO ELECTRONIC WILLS IN FLORIDA

♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss in electronic will,Estate planning attorney,florida estate planning,florida probate attorney,same sex estate planning,Sarasota estate planning

On Monday, June 26, 2017, Florida Governor Rick Scott vetoed the "Florida Electronic Wills Act" (the "Act")." The Act would have authorized the creation of electronic wills, and for their execution to be witnessed and notarized through the use of remote technology. The bill also provided for the probate of an electronic will in Florida. The Act raised concerns over safeguards to exploitation and fraud. The Governor determined that the remote notarization provisions in the Act did not adequately ensure authentication of the identity of the parties to the transaction and were not cohesive with the notary provisions in the Florida Statutes. Additionally of concern was the fact that other states would not recognize electronic wills as a valid declaration of intent and their heirs with an intestate estate.

THE IRS ISSUES MORE ESTATE TAX PORTABILITY RELIEF

♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss in estate tax portability relief,portability election,Revenue Procedure 2017-34,Sarasota estate planning

In 2011, Congress raised the estate tax exclusion amount to $5 million per person (indexed for inflation) and added portability to the estate tax laws. The portability provision is an election that allows a surviving spouse to carry over any unused portion of their deceased spouse’s estate tax exclusion and shield an increased amount of assets from the estate tax. Under the portability provision a surviving spouse had nine (9) months to make the election or it was lost. In 2014, the IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2014-18 that provided a simplified method for obtaining an extension of time to make a portability election for estates of decedents dying after 2010, if the estate was not required to file an estate tax return and if the decedent was survived by a spouse. However, the simplified method was available only on or before December 31, 2014. Subsequently, the IRS issued private letter rulings which granted an extension of time to elect portability when the decedent’s estate was not required to file an estate tax return. To address the tremendous amount of private letter ruling requests, on June 9, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service issued Revenue Procedure 2017-34 (the “Procedure”). The Procedure, which is effective immediately, provides a new simplified method to obtain permission for an extension of time to file Form 706 (Federal Estate Tax Return) and elect portability. The Procedure is available to all eligible estates through January 2, 2018, or the second anniversary of the decedent’s date of death. If an estate misses the new two (2) year deadline it may still file for a private letter ruling asking for relief to elect portability.

MINNESOTA TAX LAW CHANGE AS TO RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS

♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss in 2017 retirement planning,asset protection planning,federal income tax return,florida estate planning,Minnesota Depart of Revenue,minnesota income tax law change,minnesota residency requirement

With the number of retirees moving to states which do not access an income, estate or inheritance tax many states are trying to find ways to recoup the lost revenue. The Minnesota Department of Revenue previously took the position that the location of a person’s attorney, CPA, financial adviser or bank account determined where an individual is domiciled for income tax purposes. This was in addition to Minnesota law which found that an individual is a resident of Minnesota for income tax purposes if he or she is either: (1) domiciled outside Minnesota, but maintains a place of abode in the state and spends in the aggregate more than one-half of the tax year in Minnesota (the “183-day test”), or (2) domiciled in Minnesota. The Minnesota tax bill signed into law on May 30, 2017, included a legislative amendment specifically removing from consideration in a domicile dispute the location of an individual’s attorneys, CPAs, financial advisers and banking relationships. The new law is effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2016. This creates one less hurdle to overcome when becoming a resident of another state.

INCOME TAX EVASION - BELGIUM, COLUMBIA AND PORTUGAL JOIN THE FIGHT

♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss in Department of the treasury,IRS,IRS Revenue Procedure 2017-31,mutual information exchange agreement,offshore bank accounts,tax crimes,tax evasion,tax fraud

Maintaining an offshore bank account is not illegal, however, failing to report income and interest earned is tax evasion. Effective January 1, 2017, IRS Revenue Procedure 2017-31 added Belgium, Columbia and Portugal to the list of countries that participate in the automatic exchange of information on bank interest paid to nonresident alien individuals. This addition means there are now 43 countries participating in the automatic exchange program. The IRS only shares information with countries that have entered into this mutual information exchange agreement. The IRS is statutorily barred from sharing information with another country without such an agreement in place. All U.S. information exchange agreements require that the information exchanged under the agreement be treated and protected as secret by the foreign government. This is one of the most effective tools the U.S. Government has to combat tax evasion.

MINNESOTA RAISES ITS ESTATE TAX EXEMPTION FOR 2017 AND BEYOND

♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss in 2017 federal estate tax exemption,florida estate plan,florida estate planning,inheritance tax,Minnesota 2017 estate tax reform,retirement planning

The State of Minnesota's recent budget brings it closer to joining the thirty-two (32) states that do not impose a state inheritance or estate tax in addition to the federal estate tax. The state budget increases the estate tax exemption amount to $2.1 million for 2017 (from the current $1.8 million level). The change is retroactive to January 1, 2017, and includes incremental increases in the exemption amount to $2.4 million in 2018, $2.7 million in 2019, and $3 million by 2020. The Minnesota estate tax doesn’t have a portability provision and tops out at 16%.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA INCREASES ITS ESTATE TAX EXEMPTION

♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss in 2017 Federal Estate Tax,2017 federal estate tax exemption,DC estate tax,ESTATE TAX ELIMINATION,estate tax reform,florida estate planning

Tax reform dating back to 2014 has resulted in an increase in the District of Columbia's 2017 estate tax exemption amount to $2 million. In 2018 the exemption amount is anticipated to be equal to the 2017 federal exemption amount of $5.49 million. Currently, eighteen (18) states and the District of Columbia impose an estate or inheritance tax—separate from the federal estate tax. However, neighboring states have been repeal their estate and inheritance tax by raising the exemption amount to the federal level. For example, Maryland increased its 2018 exemption to $4 million in 2018, and the federal exemption amount in 2019. The Commonwealth of Virginia does not impose an estate tax on decedent estates.