Why Trusts Really Matter

In this post, I provide a recent article from the brothers Blattmachr which appeared in  Leimberg Information Services Estate Planning Newsletter, getting down into the nitty-gritty about just how trusts can help us, and our families.  It’s worth a read. Disabilities of Beneficiaries Few, if any, attorneys would fail to recommend strongly that a client put his or her assets in trust for a family member who is under a legal disability, such as being a minor or being incompetent.  Giving or bequeathing assets outright to a minor or an incompetent is a recipe for disaster, resulting in maximizing court interference with the management of the property, reducing flexibility in the use and investment of the property for the benefit of the person for whom it […]

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NY Law Allows Planning for Digital Accounts

On September 29, 2016, a bill was signed into law by Governor Cuomo adding Article 13-A to the New York Estates Powers and Trust Law (the “EPTL”).  This legislation is New York State’s version of the “Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act” (the “Act”) which nineteen (19) other states have also enacted into law.  The Act is effective immediately. It is meant to provide certainty to all types of fiduciaries – including: trustees, executors, administrators, agents under a power of attorney and guardians – in their efforts to acquire access to digital assets.  They now have the authority to gain access to, manage, distribute and copy or delete digital assets.  The Act covers digital assets used for personal use and does not apply to […]

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Tax Planning for Wealth Transfers

The game has changed, and we do expect estate taxes to be repealed next year by the new administration and congress. Some things are unclear: we may see a phase-out of the federal estate tax over a five or six year period, instead of all at once in 2017.  The effective date could be in January, or perhaps at the end of the year.  We anticipate that federal gift taxes could also be repealed.  We further expect that “step up in basis” will be repealed, replaced by a capital gains tax on inherited property, similar to the Canadian system.  Accordingly, planning is continuing to focus on the income tax ramifications of property transfers, but as the prior post on this blog will show, capital gains […]

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Trump Tax Proposals

Courtesy of Wall Street Journal: “Income-tax rates: Both Messrs. Trump’s and Ryan’s plans would consolidate the current rates on “ordinary” income such as wages and interest from seven brackets to just three—12%, 25% and 33%. It would also make changes to the calculation of “taxable income.” The top rate of 33% would take effect at about $225,000 of taxable income for married couples; currently the top rate of 39.6% kicks in at $467,000 for couples. The top rate for singles under Mr. Trump’s plan would take effect at about $113,000, compared with $415,000 now, according to the Tax Policy Center in Washington. In 2016 the 33% rate takes effect at about $231,000 of taxable income for married couples and $190,000 for singles.   The upshot is […]

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Two Risks in Retirement Planning that are Frequently Ignored

Retirees experience heightened vulnerability to “sequence-of-returns risk” once they are spending from their investment portfolio.  Poor returns early in retirement can force the sustainable withdrawal rate well below what is implied by long-term average market returns.  The returns experienced near your retirement date matter a lot more than most people realize.  Retiring at the start of a bear market is incredibly dangerous.  You might enjoy positive average market returns over 30 years of investing, but if negative returns are experienced in the early stages when you start spending from your portfolio, wealth can deplete rapidly through withdrawals, leaving a much smaller nest egg to benefit from any market recovery, even with the same average returns over a long period of time. Retirees face the risk […]

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Obama’s Final Budget Proposal Continues to Address Estate Planning Issues

The Administration included in its 2017 budget proposals two new proposals regarding the reporting of cost basis for persons receiving inherited property, and to require donees to report their basis consistently with that of the donor with respect to lifetime gifts reported on gift tax returns. It also repeats several former estate planning-related proposals, including: (a) simplifying the income tax limitations on charitable deductions for gifts to private foundations; (b) requiring that GRATs have a minimum length of 10 years and a minimum remainder of 25 percent of the value of the transferred assets (or $500,000, if greater); (c) requiring a person who buys an interest in an existing life insurance contract with a death benefit of $500,000 or more to report the purchase and report […]

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