A special-needs trust, also known as a supplemental-needs trust or a disability trust, is a trust established for an individual with a disability who qualifies for government benefits from that disability, in order to provide income supplemental to the government benefits without rendering the individual ineligible for the benefits. Special-needs…
With estate tax rates that could reach 55 percent in 2013 along with a falling exemption, it is not surprising that taxpayers will look for every way possible to reduce their tax burden, and one potential way of accomplishing this is with deductions. Typically, after an estate is valued, it…
In order to finance the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Congress has imposed a new 3.8% surtax on certain passive income starting in 2013. Typically, passive income includes interest, dividends, rents, royalties, capital gains, and other payments in which the investor does not actively participate in management. The surtax…
In the past few years, a number of states, such as Nevada, Alaska, and South Dakota, have enacted legislation that permits the use of self-settled or “asset-protection” trusts. Basically, these trusts allow a person to be the beneficiary as well as the grantor in a trust. As the name implies,…
It is well known that many wealthy individuals come to sunny Florida to retire. Unfortunately, Florida also has its fair share of people looking to take advantage of Florida’s wealthy, elderly population. For example, it is not uncommon for a younger man or woman to marry a high net worth…
Usually when an executor is appointed to administer an estate, he or she does not think that the liabilities of the estate could actually become their own. However, in U.S. v. David A. Tyler and Louis J. Ruch, a federal judge ruled that an executor can be held liable for…
In their wills, many parents choose to leave property to their children. Others may give their children certain property while they are still living. Children may also have an interest in property as a result of a trust set up by one or both of their parents. But, what if…
Many individuals execute wills before their death, leaving certain gifts to their family members, friends, and other individuals. From time to time, however, certain individuals named in a will (i.e., “devisees”) predecease (i.e., die before) the person leaving them the gift. If a new will is not executed, a question…
When probating an estate (i.e., distributing a deceased person’s assets), a personal representative is responsible for seeing that the process is carried out in accordance with the deceased person’s wishes and state law. Some very common questions often arise in this context: What exactly are the duties of a personal…
People generally know that the purpose of a will is to facilitate the orderly distribution of assets after a person’s death. Therefore, it logically flows that assets that expire upon death do not need to be handled by a will. They expire. However, the concept of ownership has changed drastically…