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Sep
Decanting: A Powerful Tool for Disgruntled Trust Beneficiaries
“I’m the beneficiary of several trusts and I would love to be able to combine them into a single trust. ” “The trustee of my trust and I are not getting along. We’d like to go our separate ways, but the trust doesn’t provide enough flexibility in appointing a new trustee. ” “The i...
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Sep
New IRS “Clawback” Regulations Have Limited Applicability to Gift Transactions
The Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) doubled the exemption amount available during lifetime or at death from $5 million to $10 million, inflation adjusted, until January 1, 2026. The 2022 exemption amount is $12. 06 million and will decline under current law, subject to further...
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Sep
Proposed New Tax Bill Impact on Life Insurance Trusts
One of the most common tools in the estate planner’s toolbox is an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust, or ILIT for short. The ILIT is useful for clients who have a life insurance policy that, if included with their other assets, would be subject to the estate tax. Consider this exa...
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Sep
When States Compete for Trust Business, Clients Win!
by Andy StraussCommunity property is the law in nine states (Louisiana, Arizona, California, Texas, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Wisconsin) for property acquired by spouses during the marriage. While the laws differ somewhat between community property states, it ge...
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Sep
Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATs): How Married Couples Can Have Their Cake And Eat It, Too.
The federal estate tax exemption has never been higher than it is today. It is currently set at $11. 70 million per person (married couples can have a combined exemption of $23. 40 million), which means that a person can gift that amount, either during their life or at their death...
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Sep
Interstate Moves in Estate Planning
IS YOUR ESTATE PLANNING STILL GOOD IF YOU MOVE TO A DIFFERENT STATE? Practicing estate planning law in Western North Carolina can be very busy. There has been a continuous influx of people moving to our beautiful area from all over the country, and indeed, the world. One questio...
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Sep
Trust Titling (funding) and Non-Qualified Annuities
Revocable Living Trusts (referred to also just as Living Trusts) are a common foundational estate plan technique. Not only can Revocable Living Trusts replace a Will (become a “Will substitute”) in distributing property after a person dies, but these trusts also provide planning...
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Sep
Did You Know That the State Wrote a Prenuptial Agreement for You Before You Got Married?
With a well-drafted marital agreement, more assets might be protected from being spent down on nursing home care for the surviving spouse. Also, concerns about children from a previous marriage being disinherited, or other family inheritance concerns might be addressed. Both par...
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Sep
Preparing for Falling Federal Estate Tax Exemptions
At the end of the year, please watch this space for our 2021 outlook letter, which will report on adjustments and changes in federal estate tax exemptions, among other estate and tax planning strategies. However, as a lead up to that, we would be remiss in not addressing and prep...
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Sep
Priming the Pump
Many married people are not aware that the State wrote a premarital agreement for them before they got married. They also were unaware that they had the right to write their own agreement before getting married instead! When married couples become aware of this, they often contac...
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Sep
Why can’t lawyers just use simple English in estate planning?
Estate planning documents are often difficult to read because lawyers have their own vocabulary. Ever come across the words “per stirpes”? It is a Latin phrase that has been used by lawyers for more than a century. It means by the bloodline and refers to a manner of distribution...
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Sep
Picking the Lock: Modification of an Irrevocable Trust
A common refrain as I explain to my clients the difference between a revocable trust and an irrevocable trust is the comment, “So, what happens once I die, and my trust becomes irrevocable? You're saying everything just locks in? What if it needs to be changed for s...
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