A few updates in probate and estate laws of interest follow: Portability is an Asset: The Oklahoma Supreme Court affirmed a probate court’s order that compelled a personal representative (the decedent’s son) to file a federal estate tax return and elect portability for the benefit of the decedent’s surviving husband (son’s step-father.) The Court observed […]

Take-Away: A spendthrift trust is the foundation for most asset protection planning strategies, including Michigan’s new Qualified Dispositions in Trust Act, aka Michigan’s asset protection trust. But there are both legal and practical limits on the scope of protection afforded by a trust’s spendthrift provision. Background: Legality: The Michigan Trust Code makes it clear that […]

Take-Away: Just because a trustee is removed, or resigns, does not mean that the trustee’s multiple fiduciary duties comes to an end. A trustee has continuing fiduciary responsibilities until the delivery of trust assets to the successor trustee. And on rare occasions, the departing trustee may continue to hold onto trust assets, despite the existence […]

Take-Away: As you counsel clients on their end-of-year gifting opportunities it is important to keep in mind some of the more sophisticated techniques when making those gifts and some deduction limitations. Background: A taxpayer can make annual exclusion gifts of present interests of up to $14,000 per donee this year; this amount is scheduled to […]

Take-Away:  In order for a spouse, or former spouse, to benefit from innocent spouse relief under the Tax Code,  the spouse must show more than just that he or she did not understand the tax return and/or the amounts on the return were either misstated or not reported on the return. Signing the return without […]

Take-Away: In something of a surprise, the IRS recently ruled that an irrevocable trust which was named as the beneficiary of several retirement plan accounts and IRAs qualified for see-through treatment so as to enable the life expectancy of the sole trust beneficiary to be used to calculate required minimum distributions (RMDs) from all of […]

Take-Away: There is more emotion and rhetoric associated with the federal estate tax than any other tax imposed by Congress. Placing that tax into context, and eliminating the emotion, adds a much needed perspective to the tax and just how many folks have to contend with it. Pending Proposals: The House Bill would double all […]

Take-Away: Ignoring for the moment the media’s rhetoric if the pending tax reform law is good policy or bad, a Christmas gift to the middle class to the 0.01% of the populace, or if the end result is a large step towards national insolvency, it is the law and we are obliged to advise our […]

Take-Away: The recent changes to the federal income tax code eliminates personal exemptions, expands the use of 529 accounts, and  it repeals the taxation of spousal support receipts. These rule changes may cause chaos in state divorce courts across the country for previously negotiated settlement agreement where the tax deduction and contractual obligations were critical […]

Take-Away: Pretty much all of the prior miscellaneous income tax deductions that individual taxpayers took advantage of disappeared with last week’s Tax Act. They cease to exist as deductions beginning in 2018. What Deductions are Disappearing? Tax Preparation Fees: Accounting fees for tax return preparation are no longer deductible. Tax Advice Fees: Fees incurred for […]