FLORIDA ESTATE PLANNING AND PROBATE LAW BLOG: September 2016

SPOUSAL LIFETIME ACCESS TRUSTS

♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss in estate planning,Estate planning attorney,florida estate plan,florida estate planning,inheritance planning,Last Will and Testament,Sarasota Tax Attorney,SLAT,Spousal Lifetime Access Trust

Is a Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT) part of your estate plan? Many families today, for both Florida estate planning and Florida estate protection planning purposes, are utilizing SLAT’s to protect their assets. When both spouses are living, one spouse can establish this type of trust for the other spouse through the use of their lifetime gift tax exemption. A SLAT will typically name the non-gifting spouse as the beneficiary, and allow the trustee to make distributions to them during their lifetime. Upon the non-gifting spouse’s death, the trust assets can then pass to the designated trust...

WHERE THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES STAND ON THE ESTATE TAX!

♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss in estate plan,Estate planning attorney,Federal Estate Tax,federal income tax return,Federal tax law changes,florida estate planning

Both presidential candidates have proposed changes to the estate tax regime. Mr. Trump calls for a total repeal of the Federal estate tax. No matter how much wealth you accumulate during your life, under Mr. Trump’s plan, there will be no estate tax due on death. The Trump belief is that you have paid taxes your whole life; therefore, you shouldn’t be taxed again at death. However, the repeal of the estate tax comes with a caveat, even under this plan: capital gains held until death will be subject to tax, in some cases. Mr. Trump’s proposal eliminates stepped-up basis on death for estates...

HILLARY CLINTON PROPOSES 65% TOP RATE FOR ESTATE TAX

♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss in Estate planning attorney,florida estate planning,florida probate attorney,inheritance planning,Last Will and Testament,tax legislation,tax planning

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton would levy a 65% tax on the largest estates and make it harder for wealthy people to pass appreciated assets to their heirs without paying taxes, expanding the list of tax increases she would impose on the top sliver of America’s affluent. The estate-tax increase and other new proposals that Mrs. Clinton detailed on Thursday would generate $260 billion over the next decade, enough to pay for her plans to simplify small business taxes and expand the child tax credit, according to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which...

IRS DENIES RETROACTIVE STATE COURT REFORMATION OF RETIREMENT ACCOUNT BENEFICIARY

♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss in beneficiary designation,florida estate planning,florida probate lawyer,Florida Retirement,florida tax lawyer,IRA beneficiary,IRA payout,Retirement Account,stretch IRA

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can easily take away what any state court giveth. Under the case facts, the decedent maintained 2 IRAs prior to his death. The IRAs listed his revocable trust as the death beneficiary. The trust qualified as a "look through" trusts, and provided each beneficiary the ability to stretch the payout period for the IRAs over their respective life expectancies. However, prior to death, the decedent moved the IRAs to a new investment firm which incorrectly listed his estate as the death beneficiary of each IRA account. This precluded the beneficiaries from stretching...

THE NEW 2016 IRS DEFINIATION OF HUSBAND AND WIFE

♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss in Elective Share Trust,estate plan,estate planning,Estate planning attorney,florida estate plan,florida marriage planning,same sex estate planning,same-sex couples

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has formally put into place, effective September 2, 2016, amendments to the regulations that define “who is married for tax purposes.” The new regulations state that it will interpret the term “husband and wife” as any two people who are married to each other, even if they are a same-sex couple. The IRS is addressing this issue as a result of the 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Windsor (which struck down the section of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) prohibiting recognition of same-sex marriages for federal purposes) and the 2015 Supreme...

IRS TAX RELIEF FOR LOUISIANA STORM VICTIMS

♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss in IRS tax relief,Louisiana tax relief,tax lawyer

IRS Announcement 2016-30 provides relief to Louisiana taxpayers suffering hardships as a result of the storms and flooding which that began August 11, 2016. The relief comes in the form of impacted residents being able to obtain a loan or in-service distribution from their retirement plans. Retirement plan administrators may rely upon representations by an employee or former employee as to the need for a hardship distribution as a result of the Louisiana storms and the distribution will be treated as a hardship distribution for all purposes. The relief applies to a employee or former employee...

ESTATE PLANNING DOCUMENTS - DONT LET YOUR CHILDREN LEAVE HOME WITHOUT THEIRS IN PLACE

♠ Posted by Marc J. Soss in estate planning,Estate planning attorney,florida estate planning,Florida Guardianship,Power of Attorney,Sarasota attorney,young adult estate planning

Becoming an empty nester and watching your child(ren) leave the home (for school or a job) can be difficult emotionally. Reality is that when a child reaches the age of 18 they are a legal adult, even though they may still depend on you for financial and emotional support. Most parents are surprised to learn that once a child turns age 18 they are not legally permitted to make financial or medical decisions on their behalf, or even be notified if their child is in the hospital emergency room. To avoid this from happening, it is important to have your child(ren) create their own estate planning...