Estate Flashcards
(54 cards)
Separated Assets of a Married Couple
- Income earned prior to marriage
- Gift received prior to marriage
- Inheritance received prior to marriage
- Interest earned in separate account owned by one spouse
If assets are comingled, they are no longer separate assets
JTWROS
- Property can be held by anyone together
- Control, ownership, enjoyment equally shared
- On death, the property is passed to the remaining owners
- Avoids probate, not subject to will
- Can disclaim assets (not take inheritance)
Non-Spouse
- first to die rule: first to die may have 100% go I to estate unless other joint owner can prove contributions
Tenancy by the Entirety
- Only for spouses
- Shared ownership
- Creditors for specific spouse CAN’T claim the other spouse’s portion of the asset
- Joint creditors CAN claim the tenancy by the entirety asset
- Both spouses need to consent to terminate
- Can’t disclaim assets (not take inheritance)
- avoids probate
Tenancy in Common
- Each owner has a share equal to their own ownership (doesn’t have to be equal)
- Income is distributed by ownership %
- Owners can transfer their ownership to anyone at any time
- Owner % goes through probate
Assets That Avoid Probate
Anything with a beneficiary or survivorship avoids probate.
- Assets with beneficiaries (IRAs, retirement plans, etc.)
- JTWROS
- Revocable Living Trusts
- Payable on Death Accounts (POD)
- Totten Trust
Assets Subject to Probate
- Sole ownership assets
- Tenancy in Common assets
- Estate is the named beneficiary
- Community Property not JTWROS
Gross Estate (Inclusions)
- Single Owned Assets
- Estate is Beneficiary
- Ownership % in JTWROS/Tenancy in Entirety/Tenancy in Common
- Assets the dead has general powers on
- Gift taxes paid within 3 years of death (GSTT taxes are not included)
- Life Insurance owed by the dead (on themselves, others)
- Life insurance benefits paid to the estate
- Life insurance gifted within 3 years of death
Life insurance is included based on the replacement cost of the life insurance if owned on someone else.
Gifting Valuation
- Use the basis of the donor
Gifting Cap Gains for Recipient
- If sold and price is higher than donor basis, its a gain (price - donor basis)
- If sold and price is lower than the FMV at date of gift, it’s a loss (price - FMV)
- If sold and price is between donor original basis and FMV at date of gift, there is no gain or loss
Non-Taxable Gifts (deductible gifts)
- gifts to spouse
- gifts to qualified charities
- payments made DIRECTLY to educational tuition, medical/dental provider
- gifts to politicians
Gifts: Estate Implications
- Gifts subject to $12,920,000 lifetime exemption
- Can always use the $17,000 annual exclusion in addition to the $12,920,000 lifetime exemption
- Gift taxes paid within 3 years of death are added back to the Gross Estate
- Taxable gifts (where gift taxes were not paid), are added back to the Taxable Estate
- Gift taxes paid/payable on the year of death are subtracted from / added to the Tentative Tax
Powers of Attorney
- Power of Attorney (traditional, non-durable): ends at incompetency
- Durable Power of Attorney: stays live through incompetency
- Springing Power of Attorney: starts when the incompetency begins
Trusts: Power of Appointment
Power: ability to determine who can enjoy, use, and possess the property subject to the power
General Power: person can do what they want
- exercise, lapse, release: both gift and estate tax
- 5 or 5 Power: no gift tax, estate tax: greater of 5% of FMV or $5,000
Ascertainable Standard: person can only do things related to health, education, maintenance and support (HEMS)
- no gift or estate tax
Special Power: person can only do things with the consent of the creator of the power having Substantial Adverse Interest
- no gift or estate tax
Lapse: don’t exercise the power over a period of time
Exercise: take action for the beneficiary
Release: relinquish control
Trust: Gift and Estate Tax (General Power)
Based on if the General Power was exercised, released or lapsed
- Gift Tax: taxed, lapsed with a 5 or 5 power: not taxed
- Estate Tax: taxed, exercised released or lapsed with a 5 or 5 power: greater of the 5 or 5 is taxed
Trust: General Power: 5 or 5 Power
- A 5 or 5 general power is a limited power where the beneficiary can take out $5,000 or 5% of the trust assets without the full trust being part of the beneficiaries full estate
- If 5 or 5 power is not used that year (lapsed), it is not taxed as a gift
- If beneficiary with 5 or 5 power dies, the estate is only subject to the greater of $5,000 or 5% of the trust assets
Trust: Grantor Trust
- Also called tainted or defective trust
- If the donor has any control or benefit of the trust, its a grantor trust
- Income from the grantor trust is paid by the grantor
- The grantor trust assets are added to the gross estate
Trust: Definitions
- Trust includes property (corpus, principal), grantor, trustee (legal title), beneficiary (equitable title)
- Grantor and trustee must be legally competent
Trust: Simple vs. Complex
Simple Trust
- Marital, QTIP, 2503(b) - bad boy
- Pass through income only to beneficiaries
Complex Trust
- separate tax entities
- 2503(c) is a complex trust
- can be irrevocable or revocable
- can pass through income or principal/assets
- grantor has no control
Trust: Crummey Trust
- Irrevocable Trust with Demand Rights
- minor (through their guardian) can demand a payout of the lessor of the gift contribution or the annual $17,000 exclusion
- a trust with Crummy provisions allows for gifts of present interest ($17,000 annual exclusion) even if the beneficiary doesn’t take anything out each year.
Bypass Trust (“B” Trust)
- Property transferred to trust at death
- Income only distributed to spouse or other individual
- Dead retains control after death (post-mortem control)
- Dead can name beneficiaries after original person paid from the trust dies
- uses the lifetime exception to shelter estate taxes of the first to die spouse
- assets bypass the surviving spouse’s estate and pass to the beneficiaries estate when second spouse dies
- also known as Family Trust, Credit Shelter, Unified Credit Shelter
Trusts: A, B, C
A Trust
- Martial Trust
B Trust
- Bybass Trust
C Trust
- QTIP Trust
Trusts: QTIP (“C” Trust)
QTIP Trust
- Surviving spouse receives income for life
- Dead defines beneficiaries after spouse dies
- Assets pass to the surviving spouse through unlimited marital deduction
- the assets are then part of the surviving spouse’s estate with the beneficiaries named by the first to die spouse
- Often used with second marriages
- used so surviving spouse can’t change beneficiary to new spouse (new husband takes the trust assets), the original spouse names beneficiaries after surviving spouse dies so new husband doesn’t get the money
Trusts: Marital Trust (“A” Trust)
- surviving spouse has control of assets and beneficiaries
- assets pass through unlimited marital deduction
- added to surviving spouse’s estate
Trusts: Qualified Domestic Trust (QDOT)
- for non-U.S. citizen spouses
- if assets passed into a QDOT, it allows for pass through by unlimited marital deduction
- estate can pass to surviving spouse
If not in a QDOT
- assets don’t pass through unlimited marital deduction, assets are subject to $12,920,000 lifetime exemption
- limited gift of $175k each year to spouse