Can Trusts Help Create Wealth? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

Trusts are the Swiss Army Knife of estate planning, perfect tools for specific directions on how your assets should be managed while you are living and after you have passed. A recent article titled “This Trust Can Help You Create a Financial Dynasty” from yahoo! finance explains how qualified perpetual trusts (also known as dynasty trusts) can offer more control over assets than other types of trusts.

What is a Dynasty Trust?

Called a Qualified Perpetual Trust or a Dynasty Trust, this trust is designed to let the grantor pass assets along to beneficiaries in perpetuity. Technically speaking, a dynasty trust could last for a century. They do not end until several years after the death of the last surviving beneficiary.

Why Would You Want a Trust to Last 100 Years?

Perpetual trusts are often used to keep family wealth out of probate for a long time. During probate, the court reviews the will, approves the executor and reviews an inventory of assets. Probate can be time consuming and costly. The will and all the information it contains becomes part of the public record, meaning that anyone can find out all about your wealth.

A trust is created by an experienced estate planning attorney. Assets are then transferred into the trust and beneficiaries are named. There should be at least one beneficiary and a secondary beneficiary, in case the first beneficiary predeceases the second. A trustee is named to oversee the assets. The language of the trust is where you set the terms for when and how assets are to be distributed to beneficiaries.

Directions for the trust can be as specific as you wish. Terms may be set requiring certain goals, stages of life, or ages for beneficiaries to receive assets. This amount of control is part of the appeal of trusts. You can also set terms for when beneficiaries are not to receive anything from the trust.

Let’s say you have two adult children in their 30s. You could set a condition for them to receive monthly payments from trust earnings and nothing from the principal during their lifetimes. The next generation, your grandchildren, can be directed to receive only earnings as well, further preserving the trust principal and ensuring its future for generations to come.

Dynasty trusts are irrevocable, meaning that once assets are transferred, the transfer is permanent. Be certain that any assets going into the trust will not be needed in the short or long run.

Be mindful if you chose to leave assets directly to grandchildren, skipping one generation, you risk the Generation Skipping Tax. There is no GST with a dynasty trust.

Assets in a trust are still subject to income tax, if they generate income. If you transfer assets creating little or no income, you can minimize this tax.

Not all states allow qualified perpetual trusts, while other states have used perpetual trusts to create a cottage industry for trusts. Your estate planning attorney will be able to advise the best perpetual trust for your situation.

Reference: yahoo! finance (July 12, 2022) “This Trust Can Help You Create a Financial Dynasty”

 

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys

What’s the Difference between a Living Will and a DNR Order? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

A living will and a Do Not Resuscitate Order, known as a DNR, are very different documents. However, many people confuse the two. They both address end of life issues and are used in different settings, according to the article “One Senior Place: Know the difference between ‘living will’ and ‘do not resuscitate’” from Florida Today.

What is a Living Will?

A living will is a written statement describing a person’s wishes about receiving life-sustaining medical treatment in case of a terminal illness if they are near death or in a persistent vegetative state. This includes choices such as whether to continue the use of artificial respiration, a feeding tube and other highly intensive means of keeping a person alive.

The living will is used to make your wishes clear to loved ones and to physicians. It is prepared by an estate planning elder care attorney, often when having an estate plan created or updated. To ensure it is valid and the instructions can be carried out, be sure to have this document created properly.

What is a DNR?

A DNR is a medical directive used to convey wishes to not be resuscitated in the event of respiratory or cardiac arrest. This document needs to be signed by both the patient and their treating physician. It is often printed on brightly colored paper, so it can be easily found in an emergency.

The DNR should be placed in a location where it can be easily and quickly found. In nursing homes, this is typically at the head or foot of the bed. At home, it is often posted on the refrigerator.

The DNR needs to be immediately available to ensure that the patient’s last wishes are honored.

A key mistake made by well-meaning family members is to have the DNR with someone else, rather than at home or at the bedside of the patient. If the DNR cannot be found and emergency medical responders arrive on scene, they are legally bound to provide CPR or other medical care to revive the patient.

When the DNR is available, the emergency responders will not initiate CPR if they find the patient in cardiopulmonary arrest or respiratory arrest. They may instead provide comfort care, including administering oxygen and pain management.

If a person is admitted to the hospital, their living will is placed on the chart. Depending on the state’s laws, a certain number of physicians must agree the patient is in a persistent vegetative state or has an end-state condition and can no longer communicate. At that point, the terms of the living will are followed.

In addition to having these documents created with your estate plan, make sure that family members know where they can be found.

Reference: Florida Today (July 19, 2022) “One Senior Place: Know the difference between ‘living will’ and ‘do not resuscitate’”

 

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Medicaid Crisis Plans for Long Term Care Costs – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

To the estate planning attorney, the situation is known as “crisis planning.” It almost always involves two things happening at once: the immediate need for additional healthcare and for a family’s assets to be protected. The end goal of crisis planning is to protect assets for both spouses, while ensuring that the sick spouse receives the care they need, as explained in the article “Crisis planning for couples focuses on asset protection” from The News-Enterprise.

What is Medicaid Crisis Planning?

Crisis planning for married couples requires a three-step process. First, does the spouse in crisis have the documents in place to allow another person to act on their behalf? This includes a financial power of attorney and a healthcare power of attorney.

Powers of Attorney need to be checked to ensure that they include specific powers needed to take action on the person’s behalf. These documents are “state specific,” meaning each state has laws determining what the POA must contain and how it must be prepared. Crisis planning requires a POA providing a broad set of powers, so agents can access and change documents like deeds, bank and investment accounts.

Once the documents and POAs are in hand, the next step is to get a detailed breakdown of the couple’s financial position and the cost of care. This becomes easier if the couple is organized and has information readily available for each income stream and asset.

What Information Will the Agent Need?

The agent must find several different types of financial documents. Proof of income for each income stream is needed. The actual proof of income will show taxes withdrawn or other deductions taken from income, such as health insurance.

The agent will also need access to several months of statements for each account, including bank statements, investment accounts, retirement accounts and deeds and titles for property. Proof of other assets, including insurance policies, burial plot deeds and other assets must also be included.

Some types of income and assets are countable, and some are non-countable. However, the non-countable income and assets may need to be considered, so the estate planning attorney will need to have all the information.

Medicaid Resource Assessment Request

Step three is to determine eligibility for programs and make the necessary applications. This will depend on the type of care needed. However, a typical crisis case is for nursing home care, which almost always means Medicaid eligibility. All income and assets are reported to Medicaid through a Resource Assessment request. The Medicaid office creates a breakdown of what will be counted against the applicant.

The remaining amount is what must be “spent down” for a person to be eligible for Medicaid coverage.

The most common way to do this is through a Medicaid Annuity. This annuity takes the spend down amount and returns the full amount as income to the spouse at home, effectively preserving the couple’s assets.

Crisis planning is stressful but does not have to be hopeless. By working with an experienced estate planning attorney and providing documentation as quickly as possible, health care needs can be met without the well spouse being impoverished.

Reference: The News-Enterprise (July 23, 2022) “Crisis planning for couples focuses on asset protection”

 

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What are Alternatives to Guardianship? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

Guardianships are drastic and very invasive. They strip individuals of their legal autonomy and establish the guardian as the sole decision maker. To become a guardian requires strong evidence of legal incapacity, and approval by a judge, explains an article titled “Guardianships Should Be a Last Resort–Consider These Less Draconian Options First” from Kiplinger. They should not be undertaken unless there is a serious need to do so. Once they are in place, guardianships are difficult to undo.

If an elderly person with dementia failed to make provisions durable powers of attorney for health care and for financial matters before becoming ill, a guardianship may be the only ways to protect the person and their estate. There are also instances where an aging parent is unable to care for themselves properly but refuses any help from family members.

Another scenario is an aging grandparent who plans to leave funds for minor beneficiaries. Their parents will need to seek guardianships, so they can manage the money until their children reach the age of majority.

Laws vary from state to state, so if you might need to address this situation, you will need to speak with an estate planning attorney in the elderly parent or family member’s state of residence. For the most part, each state requires less restrictive alternatives to be attempted before guardianship proceedings are begun.

Alternatives to guardianship include limited guardianship, focused on specific aspect of the person’s life. This can be established to manage the person’s finances only, or to manage only their medical and health care decisions. Limited guardianships need to be approved by a court and require evidence of incapacity.

Powers of attorney can be established for medical or financial decisions. This is far less burdensome to achieve and equally less restrictive. A Healthcare Power of Attorney will allow a family member to be involved with medical care, while the Durable General Power of Attorney is used to manage a person’s personal financial affairs.

Some families take the step of making a family member a joint owner on a bank, home, or an investment account. This sounds like a neat and simple solution, but assets are vulnerable if the co-owner has any creditor issues or risk exposure. A joint owner also does not have the same fiduciary responsibility as a POA.

An assisted decision-making agreement creates a surrogate decision-maker who can see the incapacitated person’s financial transactions. The bank is notified of the arrangement and alerts the surrogate when it sees a potentially suspicious or unusual transaction. This does not completely replace the primary account holder’s authority. However, it does create a limited means of preventing exploitation or fraud. The bank is put on notice and required to alert a second person before completing potentially fraudulent transactions.

Trusts can also be used to protect an incapacitated person. They can be used to manage assets, with a contingent trustee. For an elderly person, a co-trustee can step in if the grantor loses the capacity to make good decisions.

Planning in advance is the best solution for incapacity. Talk with an experienced estate planning attorney to protect loved ones from having to take draconian actions to protect your best interests.

Reference: Kiplinger (July 7, 2022) “Guardianships Should Be a Last Resort–Consider These Less Draconian Options First”

 

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How to Plan in a Time of Uncertainty – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

There’s a saying in estate planning circles that the only people who pay estate taxes are those who don’t plan not to pay estate taxes. While this does not cover every situation, there is a lot of truth to it. A recent article from Financial Advisor entitled “Estate Planning In This Particular Time of Uncertainty” offers strategies and estate planning techniques to be considered during these volatile times.

Gifting Assets into Irrevocable Trusts to Benefit Family Members. If done correctly, this serves to remove the current value and all future appreciation of these assets from your estate. With the federal estate tax exemption ending at the end of 2025, the exemption will drop from $12.06 million per person to nearly half that amount.

Combine this with a time of volatile asset prices and it becomes fairly obvious: this would be a good time to take investments with a lowered value out of the individual owner’s hands and gift them into an irrevocable trust. The lower the value of the asset at the time of the gift, the less the amount of the lifetime exemption that needs to be used. If assets are expected to recover and appreciate, this strategy makes even more sense.

Spousal Limited Access Trust (SLAT). This may be a good time for a related technique, the SLAT, an irrevocable trust created by one spouse to benefit the other and often, the couple’s children. Access to income and principal is created during the spouse’s lifetime. It can even be drafted as a dynasty trust. Assets can be gifted out of the estate to the trust and while the grantor (the person creating the trust) cannot be a beneficiary, their family can. Couples may also create reciprocating SLATs, where each is the beneficiary of the other’s trust, as long as they are careful not to create duplicate trusts, which have been found invalid by courts. Talk with an experienced estate planning attorney about how a SLAT may work for you and your spouse.

What about interest rates? A Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT), where the grantor contributes assets and enjoys a fixed annuity stream for the life of the trust, may be advantageous now. At the end of the trust term, remaining assets are distributed to family members or a trust for their benefit. To avoid a gift tax on the calculated remainder, due when the trust is created, most GRATs are “zeroed out,” that is, the present value of the annuity stream to the grantor is equal to the amount of the initial funding of the trust. Since you get back what’s been put in, no taxable gift occurs. The lower the interest rate, the higher the value of the income stream. The grantor can take a lower annuity amount and with decent appreciation of assets in the trust, there will be a larger amount as a remainder for heirs. Interest rates need to be considered when looking into GRATs.

Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT) is a trust used to transfer a primary residence to beneficiaries with minimal gift tax consequences. The grantor retains the right to live in the house at no charge for a certain period of time. After the time period ends, the property and any appreciation in value passes to beneficiaries. The valuation for the value of the initial transfer into the trust for gift tax purposes is determined by a calculation relying heavily on interest rates. In this case, a higher interest rate results in a lower present value of the remainder and a lower gift value when the trust is created.

Reference: Financial Advisor (July 8, 2022) “Estate Planning In This Particular Time of Uncertainty”

 

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How are Capital Gains in Irrevocable Trust Taxed? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

Putting a home in an irrevocable trust may be done to protect the house from estate taxes, explains a recent article from Yahoo! Life titled “Do Irrevocable Trusts Pay the Capital Gains Tax?” However, what effect does this have on capital gains taxes?

An irrevocable trust is used to protect assets. Unlike a revocable trust, once an asset is placed within the trust, it is difficult to have the asset returned to the original owner. The trust is a separate legal entity and has its own taxpayer identification number.

Assets moved into a trust are permanently owned by the trust, until the trustee distributes assets to named beneficiaries or their heirs. Irrevocable trusts are often used to protect assets from litigation.

Capital gains taxes are the tax liabilities created when assets are sold. Typical assets subject to capital gains taxes include stocks, homes, businesses and collectibles. Capital gains taxes are usually lower than earned income taxes. For example, the top federal income tax rate is 37%, and the top capital gains tax rate is 20%. A single investor might pay no capital gains taxes if their taxable income is $41,675 or less (in 2022). Married copies filing joining also pay 0% capital gains if their taxable income is $83,350 or less.

Irrevocable trusts are the owners of assets in the trust until those assets are distributed, including any earned income. While it would seem that the irrevocable trust should pay taxes on earned income, this is not necessarily the case. If irrevocable trusts are required to distribute income to beneficiaries every year, then that makes the trust a pass-through entity. Beneficiaries pay taxes on the income they receive from the trust.

Capital gains are not considered income to such an irrevocable trust. Instead, any capital gains are treated as contributions to principal. Therefore, when a trust sells an asset and realizes a gain, and the gain is not distributed to beneficiaries, the trust pays capital gains taxes.

One of the tax benefits of home ownership is the ability to avoid the first $250,000 in capital gains profits on the sale of the home. For married couples filing jointly, the exemption is $500,000. The home must be a primary residence for two of the last five years.

What happens if you transfer your home to an irrevocable trust as part of your estate planning? Who pays the capital gains tax on the sale of a home in an irrevocable trust? Remember, the trust is a legal entity and not a person. The trust does not receive the $250,000 exemption.

Placing a home into an irrevocable trust can protect it from creditors and litigation, but when the home is sold, someone will have to pay the capital gains on the sale. Although irrevocable trusts are great for distributing assets to beneficiaries, they are also responsible for paying capital gains taxes.

An experienced estate planning attorney will help you to determine which is more important for your unique situation: protecting the home through the use of an irrevocable trust or getting the tax exemption benefit if the home sells.

Reference: Yahoo! Life (July 7, 2022) “Do Irrevocable Trusts Pay the Capital Gains Tax?”

 

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When Should I Hire an Estate Planning Attorney? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

Kiplinger’s recent article entitled “Should I Hire an Estate Planning Attorney Now That I Am a Widow?” describes some situations where an experienced estate planning attorney is really required:

Estates with many types of complicated assets. Hiring an experienced estate planning attorney is a must for more complicated estates. These are estates with multiple investments, numerous assets, cryptocurrency, hedge funds, private equity, or a business. Some estates also include significant real estate, including vacation homes, commercial properties and timeshares. Managing, appraising and selling a business, real estate and complex investments are all jobs that require some expertise and experience. In addition, valuing private equity investments and certain hedge funds is also not straightforward and can require the services of an expert.

The estate might owe federal or state estate tax. In some estates, there are time-sensitive decisions that require somewhat immediate attention. Even if all assets were held jointly and court involvement is unnecessary, hiring a knowledgeable trust and estate lawyer may have real tax benefits. There are many planning strategies from which testators and their heirs can benefit. For example, the will or an estate tax return may need to be filed to transfer the deceased spouse’s unused Federal Estate Unified Tax Credit to the surviving spouse. The decision whether to transfer to an unused unified tax credit to the surviving spouse is not obvious and requires guidance from an experienced estate planning attorney.

Many states also impose their own estate taxes, and many of these states impose taxes on an estate valued at $1 million or more. Therefore, when you add the value of a home, investments and life insurance proceeds, many Americans will find themselves on the wrong side of the state exemption and owe estate taxes.

The family is fighting. Family disputes often emerge after the death of a parent. It is stressful, and emotions run high. No one is really operating at their best. If unhappy family members want to contest the will or are threatening a lawsuit, you will also need guidance from an experienced estate planning attorney. These fights can result in time-intensive and costly lawsuits. The sooner you get legal advice from a probate attorney, the better chance you have of avoiding this.

Complicated beneficiary plans. Some wills have tricky beneficiary designations that leave assets to one child but nothing to another. Others could include charitable bequests or leave assets to many beneficiaries.

Talk to an experienced attorney, whose primary focus is estate and trust law.

Reference: Kiplinger (July 5, 2022) “Should I Hire an Estate Planning Attorney Now That I Am a Widow?”

 

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys

What Should I Know about Guardianships? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

Guardianships – also known as conservatorships – are drastic and invasive. They strip away control adults otherwise exercise over their own lives and establish someone else as the decision-maker.  They require a rigorous showing of legal incapacity and approval by a judge. In many jurisdictions, parties must establish a specific need for guardianship and demonstrate that other alternatives considered would not adequately protect the individual.

Kiplinger’s recent article entitled “Guardianships Should Be a Last Resort – Consider These Less Draconian Options First” says that guardianships should never be undertaken lightly. Once established, they can be extremely difficult to undo. Therefore, other options should always be considered first.

Guardianships ensure that those who are unable to handle their own affairs are not exploited or injured. There are circumstances when a guardianship may be the best – or only – choice. For example, an elderly gentleman with dementia may have lacked the planning to make adequate provisions in his will or trust for management of his affairs. Without a plan for oversight of his assets, he could end up jeopardizing the estate he intended to pass on to his family. In that case, the heirs may look to have a court-appointed guardian appointed who will ensure that their father or grandfather does not sign away his estate or compromise his physical well-being.

Transparency is important. Before it becomes necessary for a guardian to be appointed to handle your physical or financial decisions, consider whom you would trust to act in that capacity and put it in writing.

It also informs others that, if a guardian is needed, this person is the one you would like to see serve in that capacity.

A one-page directive will make your wishes clear and keep this important decision from a judge who will know nothing about you or your priorities or your specific circumstances.

In addition, you should delegate a second person now to support you in the future. It is preferable that this is someone younger whom you trust. This individual will bring a fresh perspective to the situation. They should also possess a sound understanding of money management.

If you do not consider these things now, the state will make the decision for you after you no longer can make such decisions for yourself.

Talk with an experienced elder law attorney and create the documents now that will save your loved ones from having to seek guardianship for you in the future.

Reference: Kiplinger (July 7, 2022) “Guardianships Should Be a Last Resort – Consider These Less Draconian Options First”

 

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What Is a Marital Trust? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

Marital trusts have multiple benefits for beneficiaries, including asset allocation and tax benefits.  They are worth looking at in your estate plan.

Forbes’ recent article entitled “Guide To Marital Trusts” says that a marital trust is an irrevocable trust that allows you to transfer a deceased spouse’s assets to the surviving spouse without paying any taxes. The trust also protects assets from creditors and future spouses that the surviving spouse may encounter.

When the surviving spouse dies, the assets in the trust are not included as part of their estate. That will keep the taxes on their estate lower.

There are three parties involved in setting up, maintaining and ultimately passing along the trust, including a grantor, who is the person who establishes the trust; the trustee, who is the person or organization that manages the trust and its assets; and the beneficiary. That is the person who will eventually receive the assets in the trust, once the grantor dies.

A marital trust also involves the principal, which are assets initially put into the trust.

A marital trust doubles the couple’s estate tax exemption limit, especially when almost all assets are owned by one spouse. Estate tax refers to the federal tax that must be paid on someone’s estate after they die. The estate tax limit is how much of an estate will be tax-free. In 2022, the estate tax limit is $12.06 million, which means utilizing a marital trust would essentially double that amount to $24.12 million. Therefore, about $24 million of a couple’s net worth would be shielded from estate taxes by taking advantage of a marital trust.

A marital trust is also beneficial because it can provide income to the surviving spouse, tax-free.

Only a surviving spouse can be a beneficiary of a marital trust. When the surviving spouse dies, the trust will then be passed on to whomever the first spouse’s will or trust governs.

If keeping wealth within your family after you die is important, then a marital trust is an estate planning tool that will make certain that individuals outside of your family do not have access to the wealth. You can put a variety of assets into a marital trust, including property, retirement accounts and investment accounts.

A marital trust is one legal tool to consider using when planning for a blended family.

Reference: Forbes (June 30, 2022) “Guide To Marital Trusts”

 

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Does Potential IRS Change Have an Impact on Estate Plan? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

The new federal regulation would require many people who inherit money through traditional IRAs, as well as 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and eligible 457(b)s to withdraw funds from the accounts every year over a 10-year period, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Money Talks News’ recent article entitled “How an IRS Change Could Hurt Your Heirs” says that the change would apply to most beneficiaries other than spouses and would apply to those who inherited money after 2019.

Children 21 and older, grandchildren and most others who get money from an affected account would need to follow the new regulations or rules.

The proposed change would require beneficiaries to take minimum taxable withdrawals every year for 10 years from their inheritance in situations where the original account owner died on or after April 1 of the year of his or her 72nd birthday.

These withdrawals, technically known as required minimum distributions (RMDs), must deplete the account within the 10-year period.

Heirs would pay a penalty of 50% on any RMD amounts they did not withdraw according to the schedule defined by the new IRS rules.

The proposed change has the potential to leave your heirs less wealthy. The reason is because the money you bequeath to heirs would have less time to grow in tax-advantaged accounts before they would be forced to withdraw it.

Over time, this can make a big difference in how much money they accumulate from the initial amount you leave them.

The proposed rules are designed to clarify changes resulting from the federal Secure Act of 2019.

If the IRS moves forward with the changes, the new rules will add to the growing number of reasons why it makes sense for some people to consider putting money into a Roth IRA instead of a traditional IRA.

With a Roth IRA, the account owner pays taxes upfront. As a result, heirs will not owe any taxes on the money they inherit. Therefore, the new rules would not apply to Roth IRAs.

Reference: Money Talks News (May 13, 2022) “How an IRS Change Could Hurt Your Heirs”

 

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys