There are five estate planning documents you may need, regardless of your age, health, or wealth: The last document, a living trust, isn’t always necessary, but it’s included here because it’s a vital component of many estate plans. Durable power of attorney A durable power of attorney (DPOA) can help protect your property in the […]
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How to Not “Waste” a Crisis
Every cloud allegedly has a silver lining. Estate planners have discovered a potential silver lining in the current economic crisis. Estate planning strategies now may be implemented at a much-reduced tax cost, because asset values have fallen. At today’s lower asset values, much more may be transferred via gift before breaching the taxable threshold of […]
Read MoreReviewing Wills and Trusts: What Planners Should Look For
Everyone should have an estate plan which has a will, a trust, or both. Although estate plans have a way of being dismissed once created, they cannot be filed away until needed. A regular review is required. The answers to the following questions may suggest redrafting is in order. Is the estate plan still tax […]
Read MoreAsk a Trust Officer: Dynasty Trusts
Dear Trust Officer: I’m intrigued by something I heard about recently called a “dynasty trust.” What is that, and how does it work? — Legacy builder DEAR LEGACY BUILDER: Traditionally trusts with private beneficiaries were not permitted to last forever, but had to have a determinable end date. This policy was enforced by the “rule […]
Read MoreAsk a Trust Officer: Qualified Terminable Interest Property Trust
Dear Trust Officer: I’m financially secure, and have married for the third time. Lately, my children from the first two marriages have been asking about their inheritances. They seem to be concerned that my spouse—or perhaps a future spouse—might freeze them out. How might I allay their concerns? — THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM DEAR THIRD […]
Read MoreSpotlight on Trust Taxes
Nearly 30 years ago, Joseph Rice created a trust in New York for his three children. A New York trustee was appointed, and the trust was to be governed by New York law. The trustee was given complete discretion over distributions to the trust beneficiaries. At the time that the trust was created, no beneficiary […]
Read MoreAsk a Trust Officer: Elderly Parents
Dear Trust Officer: My parents are retired, living in another state. They have a sizable investment portfolio and are financially comfortable. However, as they are getting older, they are having trouble keeping up with their paperwork. Last year they were late in making tax payments, very unlike them. I would help them, but I just […]
Read MorePerils of the Amateur Trustee
Glenn Forgey created a revocable living trust to manage his assets, naming his oldest child, Lyle, as trustee. The trust owned bank stock and agricultural property. At Glenn’s death in 1993, the trust was to be divided into equal shares, one for Lyle, one for his brother Wayne, and one for his sister Bessie. The […]
Read MoreAsk a Trust Officer: Marital trusts
DEAR TRUST OFFICER: Now that the federal estate tax exemption is over $10 million, do I still need a marital deduction trust in my will for my wife? — CONCERNED HUSBAND DEAR CONCERNED HUSBAND: Most likely, yes. If your current will includes a trust for a surviving spouse, you probably will want to keep it. […]
Read MoreSecond Thoughts on Adult Adoptions
A parent, who is still living, created an irrevocable trust before 1985 for his lineal descendants. The trust creation date was before the effective date of the current generation-skipping transfer tax, and so the trust is protected from that tax by the “grandfather” rule for pre-existing trusts. The trust will divide into three portions upon […]
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