Tag Archives: surviving spouse

Estate Planning in 2013

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Tax News & Comment — October 2013

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Tax News & Comment — October 2012

View in PDF: Tax News & Comment — October 2012

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Tax News & Comment — October 2012

View in PDF: Tax News & Comment — October 2012

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Tax News & Comment — February 2012

Tax News & Comment — February 2012

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Tax News & Comment — August 2011

VIEW IN PDF:  Tax News & Comment — August 2011 Approximately one million U.S. taxpayers have at least one financial account located in a foreign country. Many have not reported their offshore accounts to the IRS, a violation with possible … Continue reading

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Tax News & Comment — April 2011

View Issue: Tax News & Comment — April 2011 pril 14, 2011 I. ESTATE TAX RETURNS Calculation and remittance of federal and NYS estate tax is of primary concern in administering an estate. An estate tax return must be filed … Continue reading

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Post Mortem Estate & Income Tax Planning

View outline: Post Mortem Estate & Income Tax Planning Post Mortem Estate and Income Tax Planning Outline Post Mortem Estate & Income Tax Planning © 2011 David L. Silverman, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation) Law Offices of David L. Silverman 2001 Marcus … Continue reading

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Tax News & Comment — June, 2010

To view full issue: Tax News & Comment — June, 2010 To View Full Issue:  Tax News & Comment — June, 2010 The June, 2010 issue of Tax News & Comment, in “From Washington,”  discusses the new $56 billion tax … Continue reading

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Asset Sales to Grantor Trusts: Antidote to New Estate Tax?

PDF:   Sales of Assets to Defective Grantor Trusts I.     Introduction   Asset sales to grantor trusts exploit income tax provisions enacted to prevent income shifting by capitalizing on different definitions of “transfer” for transfer and income tax purposes. The objective … Continue reading

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Marital Deduction Planning

PDF: Marital Deduction Planning.wpd I.    Review of Current Wills   The estate tax will resume no later than January 1, 2011. At that time, the exemption amount may be $1 million (if Congress fails to do anything), or it could … Continue reading

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Use of Disclaimers in Pre and Post-Mortem Estate Planning

Disclaimers can be extremely useful in estate planning. A person who disclaims property is treated as never having received the property for gift, estate or income tax purposes. This is significant, since the actual receipt of the same property followed by a gratuitous transfer would result in a taxable gift. Although Wills frequently contain express language advising a beneficiary of a right to disclaim, such language is gratuitous, since a beneficiary may always disclaim.

For a disclaimer to achieve the intended federal tax result, it must constitute a qualified disclaimer under IRC §2518. If the disclaimer is not a qualified disclaimer, the disclaimant is treated as having received the property and then having made a taxable gift. Treas. Regs. §25.2518-1(b). Under the EPTL, as well as under most states’ laws, the person disclaiming is treated as if he had predeceased the donor, or died before the date on which the transfer creating the interest was made. Neither New York nor Florida is among the ten states which have adopted the Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act (UDPIA). Continue reading

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Defeating The Right of Election in EPTL § 5-1.1-A

Under Estates, Powers & Trusts Law (EPTL) § 5-1.1-A, a surviving spouse has a right to elect against the Will of a predeceasing spouse. The elective share is one-third of the net estate. The net estate consists of the net probate assets as well as testamentary substitutes. [EPTL § 4-1.1 provides that if the decedent dies intestate and is survived by a spouse and issue, the spouse takes $50,000 plus one-half of the residue; if there are no surviving issue, the spouse takes the entire estate.] Continue reading

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Marital Deduction Planning

By making a QTIP election, the Executor will enable the decedent’s estate to claim a full marital deduction. To qualify, the trust must provide that the surviving spouse be entitled to all income, paid at least annually, and that no person may have the power, exercisable during the surviving spouse’s life, to appoint the property to anyone other than the surviving spouse. Since the Executor may request a 6 month extension for filing the estate tax return, the Executor in effect has 15 months in which to determine whether to make the QTIP election. Continue reading

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Marital Deduction Trusts

Property passing by bequest outright to a surviving spouse qualifies for the unlimited marital deduction. Property placed in trust for the surviving spouse may, depending upon the trust language, also qualify for the marital deduction. However, Code Sec. 2056(b) provides that a bequest to a surviving spouse will not qualify for the deduction where the interest passing to the surviving spouse will “terminate or fail.” Terminable interests are generally those which enable a person other than the surviving spouse to possess or enjoy any part of the property after a lapse of time or the occurrence of an event, such as the surviving spouse’s remarriage. Continue reading

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