Estate Planning Can Solve Problems Before They Happen – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

Creating an estate plan, with the help of an experienced estate planning attorney, can help people gain clarity on larger issues like who should inherit the family home, and small details like what to do with the personal items that none of the children want.

Until you go through the process of mapping out a plan, these questions can remain unanswered. However, according the East Idaho Business Journal, “Estate plans can help you answer questions about the future.”

Let’s look at some of these questions:

What will happen to my children when I die? You hope that you’ll live a long and happy life and that you’ll get to see your children grow up and have families of their own. However, what if you don’t? A will is used to name a guardian to take care of your children if their parents are not alive. Some people also use their wills to name a “conservator.” That’s the person who is responsible for the assets that any minor children might inherit.

Will my family fight over their inheritance? Without an estate plan, that’s a distinct possibility. When an estate goes through probate, it is a public process. Relatives and creditors can both gain access to your records and could challenge your will. Many people use and “fund” revocable living trusts to place assets outside of the will and to avoid the probate process entirely.

Who will take care of my finances, if I’m too sick? Estate planning includes documents like a durable power of attorney, which allows a person you name (before becoming incapacitated) to take charge of your financial affairs. Speak with your estate planning attorney about also having a medical power of attorney. This lets someone else handle health care decisions on your behalf.

Should I be generous to charities or leave all my assets to my family? That’s a very personal question. Unless you have significant wealth, chances are you will leave most of your assets to family members. However, giving to charity could be a part of your legacy, whether you are giving a large or small amount. It may give your children a valuable lesson about what should happen to a lifetime of work and saving.

One way of giving, is to establish a charitable lead trust. This provides financial support to a charity (or charities) of choice for a period of time with the remaining assets eventually going to family members. There is also the charitable remainder trust, which provides a steady stream of income for family members for a certain term of the trust. The remaining assets are then transferred to one or more charitable organizations.

Careful estate planning can help answer many worrisome questions. Just keep in mind that these are complex issues that are best addressed with the help of an experienced estate planning attorney.

Reference: East Idaho Business Journal (June 25, 2019) “Estate plans can help you answer questions about the future.”

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

How Has the New Tax Reform Affected Charitable Giving? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

People typically don’t donate to charity because of tax benefits, but without it, they’re likely to give less.

CNBC’s recent article, “Charitable contributions take a hit following tax reform,” reports that 2018 was the first time the effect of the new tax law could be gauged. The law eliminated or significantly reduced the benefits of charitable giving for many would-be donors.

In total, individuals, bequests, foundations and corporations donated roughly $430 billion to U.S. charities in 2018, according to Giving USA. However, while the giving by individuals dropped, contributions from foundations and corporations went up.

Even though the deduction for donations was unchanged in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, individuals are still required to itemize to claim it. That is now a much higher bar because of the nearly doubled standard deduction.

Under the new tax reform legislation, total itemized deductions must be more than $12,000, which is the new standard deduction. That is an increase from the past $6,350 standard deduction for single people. Married couples need deductions exceeding $24,000, which is an increase from $12,700.

Because of this change, there will be fewer people who itemize their individual tax returns. The result is that many people won’t enjoy the tax benefits of their charitable contributions.

One analysis from the Tax Policy Center showed that the number of itemizers fell from to about 19 million under the new tax law. That’s a decrease of more than half from about 46 million. At the same time, lower tax rates also reduced the marginal benefit of giving, the Tax Policy Center said.

Tax reform probably impacted the middle households that used to itemize the hardest, one tax analyst remarked. As a result, lower-income families reduced giving, a change that could be an issue for non-profits in the long term. The greater the revenue is concentrated in only a few sources, the greater the risk for these charities.

Another study from the Fundraising Effectiveness Project revealed that there was a nearly 3% increase in large gifts, defined as $1,000 or more in 2018. However, modest gifts between $250 and $999 dropped by 4%; and gifts under $250 decreased by more than 4%. In addition, the total number of donors declined.

Reference: CNBC (June 18, 2019) “Charitable contributions take a hit following tax reform”

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

Stretch IRA May be Disappearing Soon – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

Short of calling your representatives in Congress and hollering, there’s not much any of us can do about a proposed change to the rules that govern IRAs, reports nj.com in the article “Your kid’s inheritance could take a giant tax hit if these bills become law. Thanks, Congress.”

For years, non-spouse beneficiaries who inherit IRAs have had the ability to stretch out required distributions over their lifetimes. That meant that inherited IRAs could stay safe and sound out of the IRS’s reach, except for annual distributions that were quite small. If a grandchild inherited the IRA, the wealth stretched even further.

Depending on the final details of the legislation, the only people who will be able stretch an IRA will be spouses.

Current rules require non-spouse beneficiaries to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) every year over the course of their life expectancy, as per the IRS life expectancy tables. Because they are taken over the lifetime of a younger beneficiary, they can be small. This means the impact of the distribution on the individual’s income taxes are minimal and the IRA can grow tax deferred over a long period of time.

Congress is looking for revenue and the wealth of Americans in IRA accounts is in their sight lines.

First, the House passed the SECURE Act, which says that beneficiaries must completely empty their inherited IRAs within 10 years of ownership. The Senate then passed the RESA Act, which is a little different. It would allow a stretch for the first $450,000 of aggregated IRAs, then anything over that would have to be distributed within five years.

Both bills call for changes to apply to inherited IRAs and inherited Roth IRAs for deaths after December 31, 2019. What’s the bottom line? The Joint Committee on Taxation expects that these changes, if they become law, will yield $15.7 billion—with a “B”—in additional tax revenue through 2029.

The government would eventually get this money anyway, but this speeds things up considerably.

Let’s compare and contrast. An 80-year old woman has a traditional IRA worth $1 million. She dies and her 55-year-old daughter is the primary beneficiary. Under the current rules, the daughter’s first RMD is roughly $35,000. If the 25-year-old granddaughter was the beneficiary, the RMD would be roughly $18,000.

If the account earns an average of 5% annually, under the current rule, the granddaughter would have distributions of some $220,000 over ten years. If she had ten years to take the money out, she’d have about $1.3 million in distribution. Under the current rule, the account would have a $1.3 million balance after ten years, since the principal would continue to appreciate. Under the proposed rules, after ten years, it would be zeroed out.

The forced larger distributions will push heirs into higher income tax brackets. That will be followed by increased Medicare premiums, as heirs retire with higher income. Add to that: higher capital gains rate, from as low as zero to as high as 20%. If that’s not bad enough, it could also trigger the 3.8% net Investment Income tax.

One option is to move funds from a regular IRA to a Roth IRA, assuming the investor meets all the requirements to do so. The Roth IRA distributions would not be taxable (unless those laws change) but that also requires the current owner to pay taxes on funds moved to the Roth IRA.

Another option is to consider a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) that names a charity as the IRA beneficiary. Upon the death of the owner, the IRA is distributed to the CRT, and the IRA owner’s heir would receive a fixed percentage of the CRT’s value for the remainder of their lives. When the heir dies, the money in the CRT goes to a charity or charities designated by the IRA owner, when the trust was created.

For now, these are proposed pieces of legislation, but chances are good they will be passed soon. Now is a good time to meet with your estate planning attorney to do what you can to protect your IRA and your children’s inheritance.

Reference: nj.com (June 10, 2019) “Your kid’s inheritance could take a giant tax hit if these bills become law. Thanks, Congress”

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

Retirement Minimum Distribution (RMDs) Fundamentals – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

Most people don’t know the rules about required minimum distributions. Also known as “RMDs,” these are the rules that require investors to make withdrawals from their retirement accounts the year that they turn 70½. However, says Forbes in the article “5 Things to Know About RMDs,” these withdrawals can have a major impact on cash flow, taxes and financial planning during retirement. They are legally required to be taken, even if you don’t need them.

If the RMD is not taken at the correct age, there will be a 50% tax on the amount that should have been withdrawn. Add to that the amount of regular income tax on the sum of money withdrawn, and you have an expensive mistake.

There are ways to soften the impact of RMDs. However, you have to know the rules before you can create your strategy. Having a game plan for RMDs will help save the money you saved for many years, and allow that retirement nest egg more time to grow.

Note that there may be some changes coming as a result of the SECURE Act and the RESA Act, if approved.

Distribution rules that you need to know. The year you mark your 70½ birthday, that is, six months after you turn 70, you have to start taking RMDs from retirement accounts, including 401(k)s. That rule does not apply to Roth IRAs, which generally do not have any RMDs, until the owner dies.

The exception is if you are still working at a company and participating in the company’s 401(k) plan. If that is the case, you may want to roll over all your previous eligible savings into that account, to delay taking an RMD. However, there are also exceptions to this rule. They depend on your ownership stake in the company, so speak with an estate planning attorney to be sure what the requirements are for your situation.

While you’re at it, make sure that the beneficiaries listed on your accounts are correctly documented. If it’s been more than a few years since you last reviewed your beneficiaries, there may be some time bombs hidden in your IRA accounts. Divorce, death and changes of circumstances may make it necessary for you to change your beneficiaries. Do it now, while it’s on your mind. Once you die, there’s no recourse for your heirs.

When do I take my first RMD? RMDs must be taken by December 31st of each calendar year. However, the first RMD must be taken for the year in which you turn 70½. You can delay that payment until April of the following year. If you end up taking two big distributions, will it throw your tax planning off? Will you be bumped into a higher tax bracket? This is why you need to plan your RMD out carefully. It may be better for your overall situation to take the RMD, as soon as you are eligible.

Accuracy counts. You can’t rely on an online calculator, since the rules are not one size fits all. Let’s say your spouse is ten years younger than you and is your sole beneficiary. You’ll need to use the Joint Life and Last Survivor Table. There’s also the Uniform Lifetime Table, but that doesn’t apply here. Check with professionals to be sure you are taking the right amount.

Where does your RMD come from? Even if 70½ is a few years away, it’s good to have a plan for how RMDs will impact the distribution of your investment portfolio. You have options, so you want to make a good choice. For example, do you want distributions to be made in proportion to the percentage of each of your holdings in your portfolio? Let’s say 40% of your retirement investment is in short-term bonds, then you would take out 40% from your investment holdings. Or do you want to take a percentage from specific holdings?

What about charitable giving? Once you turn 70 ½, you can directly transfer funds from a traditional IRA to a charity, which can reduce your tax burden. However, this must be done properly, directly to the charity.

The rules of RMD are complicated, and mistakes can be expensive. Think about your strategy early on, to make sure it’s done right.

Reference: Forbes (May 14, 2019) “5 Things to Know About RMDs”

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

Why Have Charitable Gifts From IRAs Increased Dramatically? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) from IRAs, also known as IRA charitable rollover gifts, increased by 73.8% from 2017 to 2018, and 92% of nonprofit organizations surveyed by FreeWill reported increases in QCD giving.

ThinkAdvisor’s recent article, “Charitable Gifts From IRAs Shot Up by 74% in 2018,” says the 7% of nonprofits that reported a decrease were primarily small charities that received few QCD donations in both years.

FreeWill noted that QCDs are open to anyone 70½ and older with a traditional IRA. However, 401(k)s aren’t eligible for QCDs. Distributions from IRAs can satisfy the IRS’s minimum distribution requirement (RMD). These gifts can be made annually, up to a maximum of $100,000 per year. There is also no minimum.

FreeWill’s research looked at about 120 nonprofits with total revenue ranging from $1 million to $1 billion. The research showed that QCD gifts are getting larger: 52% of charities that responded said the average gift had increased since 2017. Only 12% said the average had decreased, and 30% reported no change.

About 50% of respondents said demographics were responsible for the sharp growth in giving via QCDs, while 27% said it was changes in the tax law. The tax law changes mean that for many donors older than 70, QCDs may be their only way to get a meaningful tax benefit from charitable contributions, since they can no longer itemize deductions and don’t have the charitable deduction.

In addition to the tax incentives, demographic shifts are dramatically altering charitable giving in our country. Americans between 70 and 80 are the fastest growing age bracket. Their numbers will continue to grow over the next 10 years.

The nonprofits in the study said there were several obstacles that keep donors from making QCD contributions. About 80% of respondents said their biggest challenge when processing these gifts, was a lack of information shared by IRA custodians.

The survey’s respondents reported a second challenge to QCDs reaching them: many donors are not aware that the option exists or are confused by the process of making contributions. Planned giving officers reported that up to 75% of all questions in estate planning sessions with donors were about QCDs. The third big challenge comes from confusion within nonprofits, about which department is responsible for QCDs from IRA rollovers. Nearly a quarter of respondents said the responsibility devolved on a combination of departments.

Reference: ThinkAdvisor (May 6, 2019) “Charitable Gifts From IRAs Shot Up by 74% in 2018”

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