What are the biggest estate planning myths?
Why Would A Person Choose To Establish Irrevocable Trust?
Once an irrevocable trust has been finalized it cannot be terminated, whether that occurs upon the grantor’s death or during their life. Set up with the help of a trust and probate attorney, trust account rules state that once property is placed into an irrevocable trust account it cannot be retrieved by the grantor. A [...]
IRS Issues Fact Sheets Describing How to Avoid Identity Theft
With the recent news that TurboTax will no longer allow electronic filing of state tax returns because of the high incidence of fraud stemming from identity fraud, you may find the 2 fact sheets released by the IRS on January 26, 2015 interesting. Click on the following links to read the fact sheets: FS #1 [...]
President Obama’s So Called Trust Fund Tax Proposal
I usually refrain from commenting about proposals making changes to the tax code that, in my opinion, have no chance of passing in the current Congress. But I am making an exception in this case because within the majorly flawed proposal is a kernel of truth that is intriguing. As background, you should be aware [...]
Inherited IRAs May be Fair Game for Creditors
In Clark v. Rameker, the United States Supreme Court recently (June 2014) decided that inherited IRAs were not entitled to bankruptcy protection under the federal bankruptcy code. Although inherited IRAs continue to remain protected in bankruptcy under the Arizona exemption laws, many descendants inheriting IRAs from Arizona decedents may live outside Arizona and their inherited [...]
New Perils of Arizona Beneficiary Deeds
I first wrote about using an Arizona beneficiary deed to avoid probate on November 13, 2012. A recent decision of the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel reveals a major shortcoming that should affect the popularity of beneficiary deeds. In Jones v. Mullen, BAP No. AZ-12-1644-DPaKu, the panel decided that the debtor’s interest in real property [...]
Expiring Tax Cuts and New Taxes
As of January 1, 2013, the Bush era tax cuts will expire and whether we go over the fiscal cliff or not, there are issues of concern to all investors, including retirees. The 15% tax rate on dividends will expire and recipients will pay tax on those dividends at their marginal tax rate up to [...]
End of the Year Notes – Gifting
Much has been written about strategies for taking advantage of the historically unprecedented $5,120,000 exclusion from gift taxes that is available for gifts during 2012. Time is running out on the ability to make and document such gifts before the end of the year. Of course the furor is all about what happens if the [...]
Should I Use A Beneficiary Deed?
Arizona was the first state to recognize beneficiary deeds as a method of transferring property at death. At the time this article is written, Arizona has been joined by 16 other jurisdictions and the list is growing larger. Why is it so popular? A beneficiary deed allows you to retain ownership of your property [...]
What Is Probate?
Probate is the court process by which a Last Will and Testament is proved valid or invalid. Its name is derived from a Latin root word that means “the truth.” It is also the legal process whereby assets of a decedent are administered. “Administration” means finding, collecting, and distributing assets in kind or after liquidation [...]