Missives

The IRS’s Proposed Regulations which are intended prohibit an estate tax deduction of some ‘concocted or contrived’ estate expenses, are so broad as to threaten some common estate plan steps where the estate’s illiquidity is a result of non-tax reasons.

Individuals need to fully understand the consequences when they use the short-hand terms per stirpes, per capita, or by representation in their Wills, Trusts, and beneficiary designations.

Michigan does not legally recognize common law marriage under Michigan law, but it will respect a common law marriage that occurred in another jurisdiction.

The tax benefits from holding and selling qualified small business stock are extraordinary. The Tax Code even provides an opportunity to retain those tax benefits if the small business stock is sold.

Non-dependent children up to age 26 can contribute to a health savings plan if they are covered under their parents’ high deductible health insurance plan.

As we learn more about trust directors and their promised utility, it is important to remember that a trust director in Michigan serves as a fiduciary, along with all of the duties that are normally associated with a fiduciary’s role. Other states leave it up to the trust’s settlor to decide if a trust director is to act as a fiduciary.

Health and Education Exclusion Trusts (HEETs) are an effective way to pay for tuition and medical expenses while avoiding the generation skipping transfer tax (GSTT.)

The one-year statute of limitations with regard to claims against a trustee will still apply, even if the trustee’s periodic reports and accountings fail to include the written alert that the trust beneficiaries have one year in which to bring their claims against the trustee.

Individuals who expect to receive large lifetime gifts, or inheritance, often enter into a prenuptial agreement in order to protect their separate property.

Gift taxes can be a surprise to some individuals who have just completed their divorce. While most transfers of assets incident to a divorce do not cause a federal gift tax, there are some circumstances when a surprise taxable gift can occur.