Estate Planning Flashcards
Types of property
real property (land, anything attached to land), tangible personal property, intangible personal property (stocks, bonds, patents, copyrights)
Probate
legal process of changing title to the decedent’s assets from the decedent to the heirs or legatees
Probate Estate
property that transfers via probate process
excludes: state contract law, state titling law, state trust law
Gross Estate
tax-related term that describes all property that may be subject to federal estate tax law upon death
Types of Property Interests
sole ownership, joint tenancy with right of survivorship, tenancy in common, community property, tenancy by the entirety
sole ownership
complete ownership of property by one individual
Owners: 1
Right to Transfer: Freely
Automatic Survivorship Feature: No, transfers at death via will or intestacy laws
Included in Gross Estate: Yes 100%
Included in Probate: Yes 100%
fee simple
the owner has the right to use, sell, gift, alienate, convey or bequeath the property
Tenancy in Common (TC)
an interest in property held by two or more related or unrelated persons
Each owner is referred to as a tenant in common
Owners: 2 or more
Right to Transfer: freely without consent of co-owners
Automatic Survivorship Feature: No, transfers at death via will or intestacy laws
Included in Gross Estate: Usually the fair market value (FMV) of ownership percentage
Included in Probate: Yes, FMV of interest
Partitionable: Yes, without consent of joint owner
Joint Tenancy (JT)
interest in a property held by two or more related or unrelated persons called joint tenants. Each person holds an undivided, equal interest in the whole property
Right of Survivorship (ROS)
When a tenant dies, the other tenants will inherit the decedent’s interest outside of the probate process
Joint Tenancy With Right of Survivorship (JTWROS)
Owners: 2+
Right to Transfer: Freely without consent
Automatic Survivorship Feature: Yes, transfers at death to the other owners
Included in the Gross Estate: Yes, FMV times the % contributed
Included in Probate Estate: No
Partitionable: Yes, with or without consent of joint owner
Actual Contribution Rule
executor of will or estate administrator must provide proof of actual contribution percentage of joint tenant, otherwise the full value of the property is included in the estate taxes
Tenancy by the Entirety (TE)
essentially JTWROS that can only occur between married couples
Owners: 2 - spouses only
Right to Transfer: Need consent of other spouse
Automatic Survivorship Feature: Yes, transfers at death to spouse
Included in Gross Estate: Yes, 50% of FMV
Included in Probate: No
Partitionable: Not without consent of spouse
Community Property
all property accumulated is equally owned and shared via marriage
Owners: 2 - spouses only
Right to Transfer: Need consent of other spouse
Automatic Survivorship Feature: No, transfers via will or intestacy law
Included in Gross Estate: Always 50% + 100% of separate property
Included in Probate: Always 50% + 100% of separate property
Partitionable: not without consent of spouse
Life Estate
ownership for a lifetime before passing on to another specified owner
Situs
“site” of property
Real estate will be taxed and probated in the state in which it is located - according to its situs
Tangible personal property is also taxed and probated by its situs
Residence
real property in which someone is currently living
Domicile
is the place of a person’s permanent residence
Intangible property, however, will be taxed and probated according to the decedent’s domicile
Term Interest
Certain # of years
Property acquired prior to marriage
retains the same status after marriage
Property acquired prior to moving into a community property state
If a couple moves into a community property state from a non-community property state, then any property acquired prior to the move will retain its prior status
Gifts and inheritances to one spouse during marriage
If the gift or inheritance is specifically to one spouse and not the other, then the property retains its status as gifted or inherited
Compensation for personal injuries during marriage
Such compensation is generally treated as separate property
Property purchased during marriage with separate property
will itself be separate property
In some states, income generated by separate property
California is an example of a state where this is the case
transmutation
to change separate property to community property or vice versa
What happens with community property when one spouse dies?
Community property is subject to probate,
Half of the community property is included in the estate of the first to die,
All debts incurred during marriage regarding community property are community property debts
The step-up in basis on community property is more favorable than joint tenancy
divorce (community property)
divided equally
Estate Planning
broadly defined as the process of accumulation, management, conservation and transfer of wealth considering legal, tax and personal objective.
“planning in anticipation of a person’s inevitable death”
effective transfer
when a person’s assets are transferred to the person or institution intended by the transferor
efficient transfer
when transfer costs are minimized consistent with the greatest assurance of effectiveness
Goals of Estate Planning
Plan for healthcare decisions
Minimize Taxes (income, estate, gift)
Minimize Transaction Costs (lawyers, documents, probate process)
Provide sufficient liquidity (funeral, final medical costs, taxes)
Members of Estate Planning Team
attorney, CPA, financial planner, trust officer, life insurance consultant
Psychological Barriers to Estate Planning
anxiety, indecisiveness, hoarding, fairness, decision fatigue
Largest risks of avoiding estate planning
liquidity problems, lack of awareness of the client’s wishes, probate may take a lot longer (years), lack of preparation for a period of diminished capacity
Basic Documents of Estate Planning
Wills
Do Not Resuscitate
Living Wills or Advance Medical Directives
Powers of Attorney for Property
durable powers of attorney for healthcare
side letters of instruction
testate
“with a valid will”
intestate
“without a valid will”
Types of wills
Statutory Will - official, witnessed, signed and compliant with the domiciliary state
Holographic will - hand-written, dated & signed, no witnesses required
Nuncupative will - oral, dying declarations made before a sufficient number of witnesses
Heir vs. Legatee vs. Devisee
Heir - related to the decedent
Legatee - named beneficiary, sometimes an heir, sometimes not
Devisee - person who inherits real property
Systems of Representation
Per Stirpes - “by the roots” - if heir is deceased, children split their share
Per Capita - “by the head” each heir gets the same split
Per Capita at Each Generation - each heir of the same generation gets the same split
How to Change a Will
Revocation - “cancel” it
Codicil - “amend or supplement” it
dower
a wife’s interest in her husband’s estate
curtesy
a husband’s interest in his wife’s estate
irrevocable
unchangeable
Advantages of Probate
- protects the objectives of the testator
- protects the legatees and heirs (clean title)
- protects the creditors and pays up debts
- provides an orderly administration of assets
Disadvantages of Probate
- time
- money
- lack of privacy
Property that passes through Probate
- sole ownership property
- tenancy in common (whatever their share) property
- the decedent’s share of community property
Property that passes outside of the Probate Process
- State contract law (naming beneficiaries- if unnamed, goes through probate)
- State titling law (TE, JTWROS)
- State trust law
BASIC STRUCTURE OF A WILL
Section 1: Declaration of will
Section 2: Direction to pay all final expenses and taxes
Section 3: Bequests/Devises (Specific, General, Residuary)
Section 4: Creation of Trusts (Optional)
Section 5: Executor’s Powers
Section 6: Appointment of the Executor(s)
Order of items to be paid by estate
- Secured creditors who are entitled to be paid when the decedent dies
- Funeral expenses
- Taxes
- Debts to the United States or to a state
- Judgments with a lien against the estate
- Wages due employees
- Medical expenses
Other debts and claims
Power of Attorney (POA)
a legal document that authorizes a trusted person to act on another’s behalf (important financial or health care decisions)
Power of Attorney (POA)
a legal document that authorizes a trusted person to act on another’s behalf (important financial or health care decisions)
Parties of Power of Attorney
Principal: the person granting the powers (must be age of majority, competent)
attorney-in-fact: granted the powers; cease at death of principal
Power of Attorney can be revoked at any time by the principal
Power of Appointment
Power sometimes included in Power of Attorney, can appoint or transfer assets of one person to another
*can be revoked in life or death via will
Limited Power of Attorney
grants very narrow or broad powers, such as signing documents, paying bills or completing a business transaction (cannot assign assets)
“Durable” Power of Attorney
does not expire upon the incapacitation/disability of principal, only at death
“Springing” Power
triggered by a specific event (i.e. disability or incapacitation of principal) and lapses when they recover
Living Will
“advance medical directive” is not a will, but rather a legal document expressing an individual’s last wishes regarding sustainment of life under certain circumstances.
“die with dignity”
DNR
“Do Not Resuscitate”
trust
a legal document specifying how to handle assets held by the trust
assets include: investment accounts, banking accounts, real estate, businesses, insurance policies
benefits of a trust
-privacy
-avoid probate
-provide funds for family (in a way that benefits the assets)
-provide funds for charity
general process of a trust
Grantor of trust transfers property to the trust
Property is retitled to the trust or trustee
*Grantor may also be referred to as the Trustor, Creator, Settlor
Trustee makes annual payments to the income beneficiaries for life or a term of years (could be charity or family member)
Remainder of trust assets are distributed to the remainder beneficiary at the end of the trust term
trust beneficiaries
income beneficiary - person or entity that has the right to current income or distributions from the trust
remainder beneficiary - individual or entity who is entitled to receive the assets that remain in the trust on the date of its termination
spendthrift clause
promises to be paid by a beneficiary from trust fund income cannot be held up against the trust fund (some states allow child or spousal support to be used though)
revocable living trust
useful for avoiding probate, but will not avoid estate taxes (full FMV)