Does Living Trust Help with Probate and Inheritance Taxes? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

A living trust is a trust that is created during a person’s lifetime, explains nj.com’s recent article entitled “Will a living trust help with probate and inheritance taxes?”

For example, New Jersey’s Uniform Trust Code governs the creation and validity of trusts. A real benefit of a trust is that its assets are not subject to the probate process. However, the New Jersey probate process is simple, so most people in the Garden State don’t have a need for a living trust.

In Kansas, a living trust can be created if the “settlor” or creator of the trust:

  • Resides in Kansas
  • The trustee lives or works in Kansas; or
  • The trust property is located in the state.

Under Florida law, a revocable living trust is governed by Florida Statute § 736.0402. To create a valid revocable trust in Florida, these elements are required:

  • The settlor must have capacity to create the trust
  • The settlor must indicate an intent to create a trust
  • The trust must have a definite beneficiary
  • The trustee must have duties to perform; and
  • The same person cannot be the sole trustee and sole beneficiary.

Ask an experienced estate planning attorney and he or she will tell you that no matter where you are residing, the element that most estate planning attorneys concentrate on is the first—the capacity to create the trust. In most states, the capacity to create a revocable trust is the same capacity required to create a last will and testament.

Ask an experienced estate planning attorney about the mental capacity required to make a will in your state. Some state laws say that it is a significantly lower threshold than the legal standards for other capacity requirements, like making a contract.

However, if a person lacks capacity when making a will, then the validity of the will can be questioned. The person contesting the will has the burden to prove that the testator’s mental capacity impacted the creation of the will.

Note that the assets in a trust may be subject to income tax and may be includable in the grantor’s estate for purposes of determining whether estate or inheritance taxes are owed. State laws differ on this. There are many different types of living trusts that have different tax consequences, so you should talk to an experienced estate planning attorney to see if a living trust is right for your specific situation.

Reference: nj.com (Jan. 11, 2021) “Will a living trust help with probate and inheritance taxes?”

 

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How Is the Inheritance Tax on My Estate Paid? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

If your state has an inheritance tax, you should have an idea how it will be paid when you pass away.

Financial institutions may not withhold the tax before the inheritances are paid, and if there will not be enough in the residue of your estate to pay the tax, you need some options.

Nj.com’s recent article entitled, “How can I be sure the inheritance tax is paid when I die?” says that, while it is admirable to try to avoid trouble for your executors, there is a simple solution.

The article suggests that you can remove all beneficiary designations from your financial accounts. When you add beneficiary designations to your financial accounts, you create non-probate assets, or assets that are not distributed pursuant to your will.

If you do this, those assets will become probate assets, or assets that pass through your will. As a result, you can then state in your will how these assets should be distributed.

For instance, it can be based on percentages of your estate or based on which financial institution holds the assets, or another method.

With these assets now being probate assets, the executor of your will is now able to withhold the inheritance tax on each of the distributions, before distributing the rest.

The amount of inheritance tax paid by the beneficiary is the same whether the distribution is made as a probate asset or a non-probate asset, except for life insurance.

However, if the financial account is a retirement account, by having it paid to the estate instead of directly to a beneficiary, the payout period may be lessened. Therefore, you should speak with an experienced estate planning attorney.

Reference: nj.com (May 5, 2020) “How can I be sure the inheritance tax is paid when I die?”

 

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How Do I Do the Most with My Inheritance? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

Studies have shown that when people unexpectedly come into money, they will treat it differently than the money they have earned.

Forbes’ recent article entitled “5 Important Steps To Maximize An Inheritance” says that even the most financially astute consumers can get inundated with their newfound wealth. People can feel pressure to use the cash to purchase new vehicles, bigger homes, or even take their families on dream vacations. Others may feel that they can safely quit their jobs and live the life of luxury.

Many people regret jumping into major purchases after getting an inheritance. Others will give away much of the money or even make bad investments that are completely wrong for their goals and financial needs. If you do not get expert financial guidance to develop a plan for your inheritance, or take the time to do it yourself, you may find yourself worse off than you were before you became wealthier via an inheritance.

Here are some financial planning tips for anyone who is receiving an inheritance or another windfall.

Do Something Fun. Set aside an amount to splurge on something fun. However, figure out how much you want to spend and on what. Without that, you may find that one small splurge turns into many, and next thing, a big chunk of your inheritance could be spent.

Taxes on Your Inheritance. It is uncommon for someone to get an inheritance big enough to trigger the federal estate tax. However, estate taxes will vary at the state level, so check with your estate planning attorney. Depending on the type of assets you inherit and how they are held, you may owe taxes on some of your newfound riches.

Quitting Your Job. This sounds tempting, but before you take this big step, make sure you have thought it through and that you have a plan to replace your income. It is not hard to underestimate how much money you will actually need to provide a nice standard of living for the rest of your life.

Take Care of Yourself. When you come into money, you will hear from relatives you never knew you had. They will all be asking for money. Make sure your own finances are in order, before you commit to take care of others beyond your immediate family.

Consult Experts. An inheritance can be stressful and overwhelming, so talk to an experienced estate planning attorney. He can help with tax filing deadlines and provide strategies to protect that wealth.

Reference: Forbes (Feb. 26, 2020) “5 Important Steps To Maximize An Inheritance”

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What Does an Estate Planning Attorney Really Do? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

Vents Magazine’s recent article, “Understanding What an Estate Planning Attorney Does,” explains that estate planning is a legal set of instructions for your family about how to distribute your wealth and property after you die. Estate planning attorneys make sure the distribution of property happens according to the decedent’s will.

An estate planning attorney can provide legal advice on how to prepare your will after you pass away or in the event that you experience mental incapacity. She will have all the information and education on all the legal processes, beginning with your will and moving on to other important estate planning documents. She will also help you to understand estate taxes.

An estate planning attorney will also help to make certain that all of your savings and property are safe and distributed through the proper legal processes.

Estate planning attorneys can also assist with the power of attorney and health care directives. These documents allow you to designate an individual to decide issues on your behalf, in the event that you become mentally incapable of making decisions for yourself. They can also help you with a guardian who will look after your estate.

It’s important that you select the right estate planning attorney to execute the legal process, as you’ve instructed in your estate plan. You should only retain an attorney with experience in this field of law because other legal counsel won’t be able to help you with these issues—or at least, they may say they can, only to find out later that they’re not experienced in this area.

You also want to feel comfortable with your estate planning attorney because you must disclose all your life details, plans and estate issues, so she can create an estate plan that’s customized to your circumstances.

If you choose the right attorney, it will save you money in the long run. She will help you save from all the estate taxes and make all the processes smooth and easy for you and your loved ones.

Reference: Vents Magazine (December 12, 2019) “Understanding What an Estate Planning Attorney Does”

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I’ve Inherited an IRA – Now, What about Taxes? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

Inheriting an IRA comes with several constraints. As a result, it can be tricky to navigate. You are at an intersection of tax planning, financial planning and estate planning, says Bankrate’s article “7 inherited IRA rules all beneficiaries must know.” There are a number of choices for you to make, depending upon your situation. How can you figure out what to do?

Whatever your situation, do NOT cash out the IRA, or roll it into a non-IRA account. Doing this could make the entire IRA taxable as regular income. Do nothing until you have the right advisors in place. For most people, the best step is to find an estate planning attorney who is experienced with inherited IRAs.

Here’s what you need to know:

The rules are different for spouses. A spouse heir of an IRA can do one of three things:

  • Name himself as the owner and treat the IRA as if it was theirs;
  • Treat the IRA as if it was his, by rolling it into another IRA or a qualified employer plan, including 403(b) plans;
  • Treat himself as the beneficiary of the plan.

Each of these actions may create additional choices for the spousal heir. For example, if a spouse inherits the IRA and treats it as his own, he may have to start taking required minimum distributions, depending on his age.

“Stretch” or choose the 5-year rule. Non-spouse heirs have two options:

  • Take distributions over their life expectancy, known as the “stretch” option, which leaves the funds in the IRA for as long as possible, or
  • Liquidate the entire account within five years of the original owner’s death. That comes with a hefty tax burden.

Congress is considering legislation that may eliminate the stretch option, but the proposed law has not been passed as of this writing. The stretch option is the golden ticket for heirs, letting the IRA grow for years without being liquidated and having to pay taxes. If the IRA is a Roth IRA, taxes were paid before the money went into the account.

Non-spouse beneficiaries need to act promptly, if they want to take the stretch option. There is a cutoff date for taking the first withdrawal, depending upon whether the original account owner was over or under 70 ½ years old.

There are year-of-death distribution requirements. If the original owner has taken his or her RMD in the year that they died, the beneficiary needs to make sure the minimum distribution has been taken.

There might be a tax break. For estates subject to the federal estate tax, inheritors of an IRA may get an income-tax deduction for the estate taxes paid on the account. The taxable income earned (but not received by the deceased individual) is “income in respect of a decedent.”

Make sure the beneficiary forms are properly filled out. This is for the IRA owners. If a form is incomplete, doesn’t name a beneficiary or is not on record with the custodian, the beneficiary may be stuck with no option but the five-year distribution of the IRA.

A poorly drafted trust can sink the IRA. If a trust is listed as a primary beneficiary of an IRA, it must be done correctly. If not, some custodians won’t be able to determine who the qualified beneficiaries are, in which case the IRS’s accelerated distribution rules for IRAs will be required. Work with an estate planning attorney who is experienced with the rules for leaving IRAs to trusts.

Reference: Bankrate (Nov. 19, 2019) “7 inherited IRA rules all beneficiaries must know.”

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Will My Heirs Need to Be Ready to Pay Estate Taxes? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

Estate taxes all depend on how on much a person is planning to give to heirs.

Motley Fool’s recent article asks “If I Leave My Retirement Savings to My Heirs, Will They Pay Estate Tax?” The article tells us that retirement accounts like 401(k)s, 403(b)s, traditional and Roth IRAs and others are a part of your taxable estate.

However, unless the total assets of your estate plus any taxable gifts you’ve already given are more than the lifetime exclusion amount, your estate won’t owe estate taxes.

For 2019, this is $11,400,000, and in 2020, the exclusion will be raised to $11,580,000. If you total all of your assets’ value, only the amount in excess of the exclusion will be taxable. Therefore, if you have a $12,000,000 estate and die in 2020, only $420,000 of your assets would be subject to estate taxes.

Let’s look at another example: if your assets, including your retirement savings, total up to $5 million, your heirs won’t be required to pay any estate tax whatsoever.

However, while they may not have to pay estate taxes, remember that withdrawals from most retirement accounts (except Roth IRA accounts) will be deemed to be taxable income. Thus, estate tax or no estate tax, if your heirs are in a pretty high tax bracket, inheriting your retirement savings may increase their tax liability.

Don’t neglect to check with an estate planning attorney about your state’s estate and inheritance taxes. There are a handful of states that have their own estate taxes, and their thresholds may be lower than the IRS’s.

There are now six states with an inheritance tax: Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Each state sets its own inheritance tax exemption, and inheritance tax rates. However, these rates are subject to change at any time with changes to the laws in those states.

Reference: Motley Fool (November 8, 2019) “If I Leave My Retirement Savings to My Heirs, Will They Pay Estate Tax?”

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The Downside of an Inheritance – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

As many as 1.7 million American households inherit assets every year. However, almost seventy-five percent of those heirs lose their inheritance within a few years. More than a third see no change or even a decline in their economic standing, says Canyon News in the article “Three Setbacks Associated With Receiving An Inheritance.”

Receiving an inheritance should be a positive event, but that’s often not the case. What goes wrong?

Family battles. A survey of lawyers, trust officers, and accountants conducted by TD Wealth found that at 44 percent, family conflicts are the biggest cause for inheritance setbacks. Conflicts often arise when individuals die without a properly executed estate plan. Without a will, asset distributions are left to the law of the state and the probate court.

However, there are also times when even the best of plans are created and problems occur. This can happen when there are issues with trustees. Trusts are commonly used estate planning tools, a legal device that includes directions on how and when assets are to be distributed to beneficiaries. Many people use them to shield assets from estate taxes, which is all well and good. However, if a trustee is named who is adverse to the interests of the family members, or not capable of properly managing the trust, lengthy and expensive estate battles can occur. Filing a claim against an adversarial trustee can lead to divisions among beneficiaries and take a bite out of the inheritance.

Poor tax planning. Depending upon the inheritance and the beneficiaries, there could be tax consequences including:

  • Estate Taxes. This is the tax applied to the value of a decedent’s assets, properties and financial accounts. The federal estate tax exemption as of this writing is very high—$11.4 million per individual—but there are also state estate taxes. Although the executor of the estate and not the beneficiary is typically responsible for the estate taxes, it may also impact the beneficiaries.
  • Inheritance Taxes. Some states have inheritance taxes, which are based upon the kinship between the decedent and the heir, their state of residence and the value of the inheritance. These are paid by the beneficiary and not the estate. Six states collect inheritance taxes: Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Spouses do not pay inheritance taxes when their spouse’s die. Beneficiaries who are not related to decedents will usually pay higher inheritance taxes.
  • Capital Gains Tax. In certain circumstances, heirs pay capital gains taxes. Recipients may be subject to capital gains taxes, if they make a profit selling the assets that they inherited. For instance, if someone inherits $300,000 in stocks and the beneficiary sells them a few years later for $500,000, the beneficiary may have to pay capital gains taxes on the $200,000 profit.

Impacts on Government Benefits. If an heir is receiving government benefits like Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Supplemental Social Security (SSS) or Medicaid, receiving an inheritance could make them ineligible for the government benefit. These programs are generally needs-based and recipients are bound to strict income and asset levels. An estate planning attorney will usually plan for this with the use of a Special Needs Trust, where the trust inherits the assets, which can then be used by the heir without losing their eligibility. A trustee is in charge of the assets and their distributions.

An estate planning attorney can work with the entire family by planning for the transfer of wealth and helping educate the family so that the efforts of a lifetime of work are not lost in a few years’ time.

Reference: Canyon News (October 15, 2019) “Three Setbacks Associated With Receiving An Inheritance”

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Do My Heirs Need to Pay an Inheritance Tax? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

U.S. News & World Report explains in its article, “What Is Inheritance Tax?” that estate taxes and inheritance taxes are often mentioned as if they’re the same thing. However, they’re really very different in concept and practice.

Remember that not every estate is required to pay estate taxes, and not every heir will pay inheritance tax. Let’s discuss how to determine whether these taxes impact you.

Inheritance can be taxable to heirs. However, this is based upon the state in which the deceased lived and the heirs’ relationship to the benefactor.

Inheritance tax is a state tax on a portion of the value of a deceased person’s estate that’s paid by the inheritor of the estate. There’s no federal inheritance tax. Currently, there are only six states that impose an inheritance tax, according to the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. The states that have an inheritance tax are Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Inheritance tax laws and exemption amounts are different in each of these six states. In Pennsylvania, there’s no inheritance tax charged to a surviving spouse, a son or daughter age 21 or younger and certain charitable and exempt organizations. Otherwise, the Keystone State’s inheritance tax is charged on a tiered system. Direct descendants and lineal heirs pay 4.5%, siblings pay 12% and other heirs pay a cool 15%.

Inheritance tax is determined by the state in which the deceased lived. Estate taxes are deducted from the deceased’s estate after death and aren’t the responsibility of the heirs. Some states also charge their own estate taxes on assets more than a certain value. The states that charge their own estate tax are Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Washington, D.C.

Decreasing estate taxes are the responsibility of the deceased prior to his or her death. They should work with an estate planning attorney to map out strategies that can lessen or eliminate estate taxes for certain assets.

Remember that inheritance taxes are state taxes. They are imposed by only six states and are the responsibility of the heirs of the estate, even if they live in another state. In contrast, estate taxes are federal and state taxes. The federal estate tax is a 40% tax on assets more than $11.4 million for 2019 ($22.8 million for married couples). This is charged, regardless of where you live. Some states have additional estate taxes with their own thresholds.

Inheritance taxes are paid by the heirs and estate taxes are paid by the estate. An estate planning attorney can help to find ways to reduce taxes and transfer money efficiently.

Reference: U.S. News & World Report (October 8, 2019) “What Is Inheritance Tax?”

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