The United States Tax Court recently decided a case where the issue was the role that a tax return due to the decedent played in overall estate tax liability. The Estate of Russell Badgett, Jr. et al v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 2015-226 (Nov. 24, 2015) dealt with a very large…
WHAT HAPPENS IF A WILL IS INVALIDATED? Wills are perhaps the most basic and simple form of passing on property and the transmission of wealth from one generation to the next. It allows the testator to give away the property and money that they own and have on hand as…
STRICT ADHERENCE TO FORM On March 3, 2015 the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting in Denver, Colorado, rendered an opinion in the case of Draper v. Colvin, where it explicitly admitted that it drew “a hard line” when it upheld the decision of the Social Security Administration that denied…
WHY IT MATTERS FOR ESTATE PLANNING Every year the Federal Department of Treasury publishes the greenbook which outlines the then current presidential administration’s revenue proposals, tax policies, job creation issues that relate to the Department of Treasury and other related fiscal and policy issues. The greenbook is scrutinized by tax…
GROWING LEGAL ISSUE The federal Department of Health and Human Services estimates that there are currently approximately 600,000 frozen embryos in the United States and the number continues to grow each year. Of these, it is estimated that approximately 60,000 could be implanted for full term pregnancy. In still other…
PORTABILITY In 2011 Congress revamped the estate and gift tax laws and legislated that the federal estate and gift tax exclusion amount was $5 million. This amount is annually adjusted for inflation; the 2015 maximum is $5.43 million. Any estate values less than this amount are excluded from estate and…
QTIP TRUSTS – WHAT IS IT? In our society, with divorces as common as it is, many people would likely benefit from a qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) trust. The QTIP trust gives a stream of income produced from a trust to a surviving spouse. That money passes without payment…
WITNESS ADVOCATE RULE In New York, as well as perhaps every other jurisdiction, an attorney may not serve as an attorney as well as a witness in the same case. Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 3.7 is mandatory and not permissive. It does not matter if it is a bench…
SELL NOW OR PASS ON The issue of how to deal with the collection of fine art that you amassed over the years should be dealt with now rather than allowing your heirs decide for you. Perhaps your heirs do not have any appreciation for your original Ansel Adams or…
On June 24, 2015 a trial Court in California invalidated a California law as unconstitutional, which created a default surrogate decision maker when that individual is mentally incapacitated and does not have a family member, or anyone else for that matter, to make key decisions for them. The law and…