Top Ten Reasons to Decant an Irrevocable Trust

By Steven J. Oshins, J.D., AEP (Distinguished) Trust decanting is the act of distributing assets from one trust to a new trust with different terms.  Just as one can decant wine by pouring it from its original bottle into a new bottle, leaving the unwanted sediment in the original bottle, one can pour the assets from one trust into a new trust, leaving the unwanted terms in the original trust. For many years, practitioners have struggled to find ways to change the terms of an irrevocable trust.  However, through common law and through the decanting statutes that have been enacted…

Explaining Trust Income Strategies: An End-of-the-Year Q&A

Reproduced with the expressed written consent and permission from Robert L. Moshman, Esq., author of the The Estate Analyst. To contact Bob Moshman to be included on his distribution list of his monthly newsletter, e-mail Bob at bmoshman@optonline.net. “This is the end, beautiful friend, This is the end, my only friend. The end of our elaborate plans, The end of everything that stands, The end, no safety no surprise, The end, I’ll never look into your eyes again.” —Jim Morrison The waning moments of the year sometimes provide an opportunity for several gratifying tax-saving adjustments. On the other hand, dramatic…

Final IRS Form 706 Instructions Posted

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;…