Estate Flashcards
deductions FOR gross estate
ABCDE
Administrative
Burial/funeral
Casualty losses during admin
Debts of decedent
Expenses for medical
deductions FROM gross estate
- charity
- marital
- state tax paid for estate, inheritance, legacy, succession
what does prior transfer credit apply to?
credit for estate taxes paid within the last 10 years
<2 years = 100%
2 years = 80%
3 years = 70%
purpose is to help avoid double taxation when couple dies at close time
estate credits
-estate tax credit
-prior transfer credit
-foreign death taxes credit (property outside US)
what basis and holding period do heirs get? exception
-step to FMV (not necessarily up; could be a step down)
-holding period is always LT
-no step to for IRD
how are publicly traded securities valued for gift purposes?
- average of high and low trading price for the day (including accrued dividends/interest)
- if death occurs on a weekend, based on averages for trading day before and after
if rarely traded security, there is a different formula
Crummey provision
allows trust beneficiary to withdraw some or all of a contribution to a trust for a limited period of time (e.g., 30 days) to create a present interest
5/5 lapse rule:taxable gift occurs when power to withdraw >$5K or 5% of assets lapses (if >1 beneficiary)
note: 5 days is NOT enough for Crummy
heir vs legatee
legatee inherits under the will
heir inherits under state law
abatement
reduction of a bequest
e.g., will said $100K but you only have $80K at death
ademption
extinguishment of a right when we no longer have the asset we gave in a will
e.g., it names a specific house but decedent doesn’t live there anymore
durable and general vs limited power of attorney/appointment
general means right to manage asset broadly
limited can be narrow (pay my bills) or braod (anything I can do except); limited appointment often limited to HEMS
durable means it survives incapacity
holographic will
handwriten; must be signed and dated
noncupative will
oral, dying wishes
only applies to personalty
not valid in most states
must have witnesses
statutory will
drawn by attorney and complies with domicile state law
survivorship clause
requies beneficiary to survive decedent by certain period of time
for spouse, must be <6 months to get marital deduction
disclaimer clause
outlines who gets the property if a named legatee disclaims (doesn’t want) it
cannot be used to avoid GSTT
power of attorney vs power of appointment
general and limited
attorney is the right to manage; cannot survive past death
appointment is the power to appoint
- general can appoint assets to yourself
- limited can only appoint assets to others
tenants in common
owners, estate inclusion, survivorship feature, partioning
owners: 2+
estate: include based on % owned
survivorship feature: none
partitioning: CAN be partitioned without consent of all
JTWROS
owners, estate inclusion, survivorship feature, partioning, probate
owners: 2+
survivorship feature: yes
estate: % contributed unless spouse (50/50)
survivorship feature: yes
partition involuntarily: yes
probabte: no
tenancy by entirety
owners, estate inclusion, survivorship feature, partioning, probate
owners: 2 only
estate inclusion: 50%
survivorship feature: yes; automatically goes to surviving owner, even if will says otherwise
probabte: none
partitioning: cannot be partitioned involuntarily
community property
owners, estate inclusion, survivorship feature, partioning, probate
owners: 2
estate: 50% inclusion
survivorship feature: no
probate: yes
partitioning: no
surviving owners also gets a step to FMV
what is required to elect gift splitting?
filing a 709 for each person that has a taxable gift (i.e., gifts >$16K each and has used credit)
what is the annual exclusion for non-citizen spouses?
$164K
intestate
- to die without a valid will
- includes dying with a will that only covers some assets (or without a risiduary clause)
attestation clause
aka witness clause
signed by at least two qualified witnesses (3 in some states)
self-proving clause
notary signing a declaration
requirments to disclaim a bequest
- cannot benefit from property (some exceptions for surviving spouse)
- cannot direct future interest
- must disclaim within 9 months
- must be in writing
per capita vs per stirpes
stirpes: grandchildren stand in for decased parent and split
per capita: equal shares among living beneficiaries
codicil
a suplement to a will used to modify, amend, or explain
what are the community property states?
AZ, CA, ID, NV, NM, TX, WA
LA, WI
which ownership types go through probate?
sole ownership
tenants in common
community property
duties specific to administrator and executor
administrator: petition court for appointment, pay security bond
executor: locate will, submit will to court
what letter does the court use to name administrator and executor?
administrator: letter of administration
executor: letters of testamentary
when is imputed interest required?
loan > $100K
Loan $10-100K AND borrower has inestment income $1K+
note: If $10-100K, imputed interest is limited to net investment income
what is a qualified transfer?
what does it include?
payment made directly to:
- education facility for tuition (NOT books/supplies/room & board)
- medical care provider
are gifts to a political organization exempt from gift tax?
yes
when is a Form 709 required?
- when any gift is made unless it is < annual exclusion, not subject to gift tax (qualified transfer, spouse, charity)
- when gift splitting is elected
what is the statute of liminations on gift tax?
3 years unless gift was not disclosed
how do gifts made within 3 years of death impact the gross estate?
- any gift tax paid on them is included in gross estate
- if any retained interest, value is included in gross estate
- proceeds from any life insurance policy gifted within 3 years is included
are annuities included in the gross estate?
- no if a straight single life annuity beause it terminates at death
- yes if survivorship annuity; in that case, it’s included in the estate for the first to die
is life insurance on the decedent’s life included in the gross estate?
proceeds are included if proceeds were receivable by estate or decedent had any incident of ownership
what are minority discounts, lack of marketability discounts, and blockage discounts, and how much are they typically?
- minority: has a minority interest in closely held business; 15-50%
- marketability: closely held buisness that is hard to market; 15-50%
- blockage: block of corporate stock so large it would have a material impact on stock price
there is also a key person discount
how are rarely traded securities valued for estate tax inclusion purposes?
[(price after death x business days until death) + (price before death x business days since death)] / (business days until death + business days since death)
basically a weighted average
what is the alternate valuation date and what is required to use it?
assets valued at date 6 months after death
requirements:
- value must be lower than valuation on date of death
- estate tax must be lower than date of death
- if asset is sold between death and 6 months, include value of sale
- wasting assets (annuities, patents, lease income) must be valued as of date of death still
when is Form 706 required?
- required if gross estate + adjusted taxable gifts is > estate tax credit
- time: must be filed and estate tax must be paid 9 months after death
- extension: executor can request up to 12 month extension by filing form 4768
penalties for not filing Form 706
- same as income tax
failure to file: 5%/mo up to 25%
failure to pay: 0.5%/mo up to 25% - if fraud, 15%/mo up to 75%
reverse gift
if heir receives property that was given by the heir to the decedent within 1 year of death, no step to basis
what is the estate tax rate?
varies by estate tax base
remember that if taxable gift >$1M: $345,800 + 40% of amount that exceeds $1M
what is the deadline for filing a 709 and who is liable for the tax?
- tax due date + extensions
- donor is primarily liable but may go after donee if donor doesn’t pay
what type of gifts are best to gift to charity from a strategic perspective?
those that have appreciated the most
is general power of appointment included in gross estate?
follow up - how to avoid inclusion
- yes because you have the right to appoint to yourself, your creditors, etc
- avoid by creating an ascertainable standard (HEMS) or Crummey provision
how is life insurance valued for gross estate?
- paid up: include replacement value
- premium pay status (i.e., still making payments: include interpolated terminal reserve + unearned premium
when are 1041’s due when someone dies?
they continue to be filed annually until the estate is closed out
which expenses can you choose whether to take on 1041 or 706?
AMC
- admin
- medical
- casualty losses
high-leve estate formula
Gross Estate
(-) ABCDE
= Adjusted Gross Estate
(-) marital and charity
= Taxable Estate
(+) post ‘76 gifts
= Tentative tax base
requirements for marital deduction
- married at death
- citizen
- item must be included in gross estate
- later must be included in spouse’s gross estate