The Internal Revenue Code grants spouses several tax benefits both during life and at death. Portability represents one of those benefits. Portability allows the surviving spouse to use the unused portion of the Applicable Exclusion Amount from their predeceased spouse. In Revenue Procedure 2022-32, the Internal Revenue Service extended the time during which a surviving spouse may elect portability without a Private Letter Ruling from two years to five years. Read on to learn more. … [Read more...] about Pondering Portability
The Importance of Continuing Legal Education (VIDEO)
In this Vlog, Attorney Justin M. Kennedy discusses the importance of continuing legal education, and why our office is different with regard to the numerous continuing education hours each attorney completes in estate planning, tax planning and elder care law each year. … [Read more...] about The Importance of Continuing Legal Education (VIDEO)
What Makes a Will or Trust Invalid?
Blog Author: Tereina Stidd, J.D., LL.M. (Tax), Associate Director of Education, American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc. Attorneys often answer questions relating to the validity of Estate Planning documents. Sometimes, the testator or grantor simply wants to ensure that the documents carry out their last wishes. Other times, a beneficiary questions the terms or amount of their inheritance. Finally, loved ones have concerns that the Estate Plan does not accurately reflect the true … [Read more...] about What Makes a Will or Trust Invalid?
What an In Terrerem Clause Can Do for You
Estate Planning practitioners field questions regarding disinheriting beneficiaries regularly. The second question often relates to what happens when that beneficiary or any other tries to have the estate plan or portions thereof overturned. An “in terrorem” or “no contest” clause usually acts as a deterrent to such beneficiaries by completing divesting them of their inheritance should they choose to initiate a lawsuit. Read on to learn more … [Read more...] about What an In Terrerem Clause Can Do for You
The Toll of Serving as Fiduciary
Estate Planning attorneys balance competing interests when helping clients decide who they should name as personal representative and trustee. Some of the factors that a client needs to consider are the nominee’s responsibility, financial savvy, and temperament. These factors influence the fiduciary’s ability to pay debts, expenses, claims, negotiate on behalf of the estate, and to conclude the administration of the estate or trust. While many individuals consider acting in this capacity a great … [Read more...] about The Toll of Serving as Fiduciary
The Power in Powers of Appointment
Estate Planning attorneys balance competing interests when creating estate plans. Uncertainty about the future concerning taxes and each beneficiary’s situation requires flexibility in an Estate Plan. Powers of appointment offer Estate Planning attorneys a way to add flexibility to a plan without complication. When creating powers of appointment, it’s important to consider not only the reason for including the power but also the way it needs to be exercised. Read on to learn more … [Read more...] about The Power in Powers of Appointment
Application of the Updated Life Expectancy Tables
Blog Author: Tereina Stidd, J.D., LL.M. (Tax), Associate Director of Education, American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc. Although Individual Retirement Accounts (“IRAs”) have become ubiquitous in the Estate Planning world, they are relatively young having been created in 1974 with the passage of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Recently, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (“SECURE Act”) made significant changes to the rules regarding … [Read more...] about Application of the Updated Life Expectancy Tables
What Everyone Should Know about the New FDIC Regulations
Blog Author: Tereina Stidd, J.D., LL.M. (Tax), Associate Director of Education, American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc. Most estate planners recommend creating a basic estate plan, usually with a revocable trust as the centerpiece. Revocable trusts provide an easy, yet effective way to avoid probate in most states. In those states in which probate is not a concern, Estate Planning attorneys use trusts to provide asset and creditor protection or to protect a beneficiary from … [Read more...] about What Everyone Should Know about the New FDIC Regulations
State Income Taxation of Social Security Benefits
The pandemic has had a long-lasting influence on our culture, including encouraging relocation at previously unheard-of levels. Imagine the surprise of a recently relocated retiree who discovers that their previously untaxed Social Security benefits are now included in their taxable income at the state level. Taxation of these benefits could have a serious impact on their lifestyle and may provide a less beneficial financial picture than was first thought. Want to know whether your state taxes … [Read more...] about State Income Taxation of Social Security Benefits
Start 2022 the Right Way
Blog Author: Tereina Stidd, J.D., LL.M. (Tax), Associate Director of Education, American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc. Welcome to 2022! Most of us have left 2021 without hesitation – many had high hopes that 2021 would bring the end of COVID-19 and a return to normalcy and yet we face another variant as we usher in 2022. While things may not have gone the way we hoped in 2021, we can start 2022 prepared for anything by getting our estate plans in order. The tumultuous events … [Read more...] about Start 2022 the Right Way
