Estate Planning Flashcards
Non-community property interest
- Income earned by spouses prior to marriage
- Property received as a gift by one spouse
- Property inherited by one spouse
- Interest earned on seperate assets helfd by one spouse as a sole owner
Joint tenancy with
right of survivorship
(JTWROS)
- Property can be held by husband and wife, parent and child or children, siblings, and business partners
- Control, ownership and enjoyment shared equally by all joint tenants
- Upon death of each tenant, property immediately passes to surviving joint tenants in equal shares.
- Property NOT controlled by terms of the will
- NOT subject to probate
Tenancy by the entirety
- Ownership can only be held by a husband and wife
- Transfer of property can only occur with the mutual consent of both parties
- In most states, property is protected from the claims of each spouse’s seperate creditors, but NOT protected from the claims of both spouse’s joint creditors
Tenancy in common
- Two or more owners each own an undivided interest in the property
- Any income is distributed according to each owner’s respective share in the property
- Owners are free to transfer their respective share of property to other individuals
- Ownership stake goes through probate upon death
Assets NOT subject to probate
- Property conveyed by deeds of title (IRA)
- Property held by joint tenancy with rights of survivorhsip
- Government savings bonds - co-ownership
- Revocable living trusts
- Payable on death accounts (PODs)
- Totten trust
Assets subject to probate
- “Singly” owned assets
- Property held by tenancy in common
- Assets where the beneficiary is the “estate of the insured”
- Community Property (CP)
Assets Included in Gross Estate
- Singly owned assets
- Tenancy in common
- Beneficiary is the estate
- Community property
- JTWROS/Entirety
- Life Insureance
- General Powers
- 3-year gross-up on gift taxes paid (but NOT GST taxes paid)
Life Insurance
added to the estate
- Proceeds are paid to the executor of the decedent’s estate
- Decedent at death possesses an incident of ownership in the policy
- Decedent transferred a policy with an incident of ownership within three years of death
Valuation of a gift
- The value of a gift for gift tax purposes is its fair market value (FMV) at the date of gift
Basis of a gift
- If FMV on the date of gift is greater than the donor’s adjusted basis, use the donor’s adjusted basis
- If the FMV of the gift us less than the donor’s adjusted basis, use the chart below
Client’s substituted basis $2,015,000 Gain
between $2,0150, 000 and no gain or loss
$1,515,000
FMV date of gift $1,515,000 Loss
Deductible Gifts
(not taxable gifts)
also called exempt gifts or
qualified transfer
- Gifts to a spouse, provided they are not a terminal interest
- Gifts to qualified charities
- Qualified payments in any amount msde directly to an educational institution for tuition
- Qualified payments in any amount made directly to a medical care provider on behalf of any individual
- Gifts to American political parties
Summary of rules regarding
gifts and the donor’s estate
- Generally, gifts are given are simply “taxable gifts” to the extent such gifts exceed the annual exclusion
- Taxable gifts are added to the taxable estate
- Gift taxes paid (or payable) are generally allowed as a credit against the tentative tax
- Gift taxes paid on any gifts within three years of death are added to the gross estate
Powers of Attorney
Traditional, non-durable power of attorn__ey - Power ceases when the principal is no longer legally competent
Durable power of attorney - Authority of agent continues when principal becomes incompetent
Springing durable power of attorney - Main strength is the agent has no authority over the principal’s assets until incompetency
Power of Appointment
(Trusts)
- Special Power: Exercisable only with the consent of the creator of the power or a person having a substantial adverse interest
- Ascertainable standard: Relating to health, education, maintenance or support (HEMS)
- General Power: Holder may exercise the power in any manner he/she wishes
Gifts & Estate Tax Implications
(General Power)
Gift Tax Implications (General Power)
- Exercised, released or lapsed - taxed
- Lapsed with a “5 or 5” power - not taxed
Estate Tax Implications (General Power)
- Exercised, released or lapsed - taxed
- Exercised, released or lapsed with a “5 or 5” power - greater of the “5 or 5” is taxed