Thanks to Robert Keebler of Keebler & Associates, LLP for the heads up that the final Form 706 instructions were posted on the IRS website on Tuesday. DOWNLOAD FINAL FORM 706 DOWNLOAD FINAL FORM 706 INSTRUCTIONS We also just held a teleconference with Bob on Wednesday on the New Form 706 & Portability. To purchase the handout materials and audio recording of this program, click here.
Alan Gassman & Jonathan G. Blattmachr: Stepping Up Efforts to Step-Up Basis for Married Couples
Thanks to generosity of Leimberg Information Services and nationally renowned estate planning attorneys, Jonathan G. Blattmachr, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation) & Alan S. Gassman, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), Florida State Bar Certified Specialist in Wills, Trusts & Estates, we are pleased to provide to you a recently published article on LISI, where they discuss the importance of stepped-up basis planning for married couples. Also, for more information about Alan Gassmans’ JEST Trust Legal Document Form, click here. Alan Gassman & Jonathan G. Blattmachr: Stepping Up Efforts to Step-Up Basis for Married Couples EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The capital gains tax may be the most…
IRS Released 2013 Draft Form 706
The IRS posted an an early release draft of Form 706 (posted on October 23, 2013). The IRS provides this information as a courtesy. To download the Draft Form 706, click here. Thanks to ATRA and the “permanent” $5+ million tax estate tax exemption, some people feel that fewer estates will be required to file a Form 706. But they’re wrong! Lots of estates that don’t exceed $5.25 million may want to file a 706 because of another 2010 Tax Act provision… “Portability”! Married couples may now fully utilize the first to die’s Estate Tax Exemption without bothering to set…
Monday Funny: A Proposed New Living Will Form
This was shared with us by a fellow colleague and we thought it was funny and a great way to start off the week (on a funny note!). Enjoy and please feel free to share! Proposed New Living Will Form I, _______________________, being of sound mind and body, do not wish to be kept alive indefinitely by artificial means. Under no circumstances should my fate be put in the hands of pinhead partisan politicians who couldn’t pass ninth grade biology if their lives depended on it or lawyers, doctors, and hospitals interested in running up the bills. If a reasonable…
Estate Planning for Same-Sex Couples
By Alma Soongi Beck, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law After the historic rulings in United States v. Windsor and Rev. Ruling 2013-17, the playing field for same-sex couples has equalized dramatically. When married, same-sex couples are finally eligible for the same kinds of planning benefits that practitioners have leveraged with opposite sex married couples for years: Bypass trust planning, gift splitting, leveraging of the double step-up in basis for community property, joint tax return filings, among others. Moreover, under Rev. Ruling 2013-17, federal tax recognition now applies regardless of where the…
Sell More Life Insurance by Showing Prospects How to Avoid Income Tax
By Philip J. Kavesh, CFP®, ChFC, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation) The 2012 American Taxpayer Relief Act (“ATRA”) may have reduced the need for life insurance in estate tax planning, but it has opened numerous opportunities to utilize life insurance as an income tax planning tool. A big concern for taxpayers who may want to sell their home, stocks, rental property or business is the huge jump in capital gains taxes. The top federal rate bracket has moved from 15% to 20%, but when you add in the combined effect of the 3.8% Net Investment Income (“Obamacare”) Surtax, the itemized deduction phaseout or…
Year-End Roth Conversion Planning
By Robert S. Keebler, CPA, MST, AEP (Distinguished) Roth IRA conversions are an important part of bracket management and can be used to avoid the 3.8% net investment income tax (NIIT) and the higher income tax brackets. While some of the benefits of Roth IRA conversions may require a longer period of time to produce, these conversions are still an important strategy to consider at year-end. Advantages of a Roth IRA Roth IRAs have a number of advantages over traditional IRAs: Lower overall taxable income long-term; Tax-free, rather than tax-deferred growth; No required minimum distributions (RMDs) at age 70½;…
8 Year-End Practice Building Tips to Implement RIGHT NOW
By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law As your business winds down near year-end (unlike 2012, when everyone was doing last-minute wealth transfer planning because of anticipated changes in the estate tax laws), it’s a good time to work on your business – – rather than in your business, as we practitioners are often trapped doing throughout the year. Hopefully, this article will serve as a brief checklist of action steps you can take now to assure a more effective, profitable and enjoyable 2014. By the way, this…
IRS Announces Inflation Adjustments for 2014 – Increased Exemption Among Others
The Internal Revenue Service announced today annual inflation adjustments for more than 40 tax provisions, including the tax rate schedules, and other tax changes. Revenue Procedure 2013-35 provides details about these annual adjustments. Here are just a few of the adjustments that are coming: The tax rate of 39.6 percent affects singles whose income exceeds $406,750 ($457,600 for married taxpayers filing a joint return), up from $400,000 and $450,000, respectively. The other marginal rates – 10, 15, 25, 28, 33 and 35 percent – and the related income tax thresholds are described in the revenue procedure. The standard deduction rises…
The Joint Exempt Step-Up Trust (“JEST” Trust) Legal Document Form Package—NOW AVAILABLE FOR SALE
Thanks to the help of Alan S. Gassman, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), Florida State Bar Certified Specialist in Wills, Trusts & Estates and Christopher J. Denicolo, J.D., LL.M. (Estate Planning), MBA, we are pleased to announce the release of The Joint Exempt Step-Up Trust (“JEST” Trust) Legal Document Form Package. This package comes complete with the following items: Data CD-ROM containing the following documents: The JEST Trust (Joint Trust) Legal Document Form which comes in a 66-page modifiable Microsoft Word document with all of the necessary provisions to implement the JEST Trust for your clients. A Client Explanation Letter to be…