Estate Xfer During Life Flashcards
What are the three parties to a trust?
-Grantor, creator, settler
-Trustee
-Beneficiary
Does not have to be 3 different people
What are the four common elements of a trust?
-Legally and mentally competent grantor who intend to establish the trust
-Legally and mentally competent trustee
-One of more beneficiaries who hold interest
-Property owned by the trust (real estate, cash, other tangible property)
What is the rule against perpetuities?
Prevents a grantor from establishing a trust for an unreasonably long time (21yrs from the death of the youngest beneficiary)
How are trusts usually categorized?
By powers retained by the grantor
The date at which the trust becomes operative
The income taxation (income payout) of the trust
Property transferred to this trust will avoid probate if it is retitled in the name of the trust, but the assets are still included in the gross estate
Revocable trust
Property transferred to this trust will avoid probate and will not be included in the gross estate
Irrevocable trust
This type of trust is made effective during the grantor’s lifetime. Even with an irrevocable trust, this trust will be subject to gift tax because the transfers constitute a complete gift.
Inter vivos trust - during life
This type of trust is made effective by the decedent’s will. The gift tax does not apply, but the estate tax does
Testamentary trust
Any trust that isn’t simple
Any irrevocable trust
Any trust that distributes in excess of its income
A trust that can make charitable contributions
Complex trust
These two provisions grants the trustee the power to distribute income
Sprinkling - income spread over time to one
Spray - income spread over time to many
This provision prevents trust income from being assigned to creditors while also preventing a beneficiary from overspending
A spendthrift clause
This provision enables the trustee to distribute only enough income to support or educate the beneficiary
Support provision
What are four considerations that may influence a decision to conduct an inter vivid transfer to someone other than a charity?
Competency of the individual
Estate tax of the individual
Marginal income tax bracket of the individual
Degree of relationship to the donor
What are the effects of control retention in a trust?
Income shifting lost (gift not complete)
Included in estate
Loss of marital deduction
Loss of charitable deduction
What are the types of lifetime gifts?
Outright gift
Net gift: give, but DE responsible for gift tax
Reverse gift: give to someone who dies, to get back stepped up
Educational account: 529,
Gift leaseback: gift real estate and then deduct lease payments
Custodial gifts: UGMA, UTMA <- real estate
Gifts in trust: 2503(b) Badboy - distributes annually; 2503(c)=college
In an outright gift, what is sole ownership and what are the consequences?
The full transfer of a property.
-DR loses control, but gift is not in estate
-DR may have to pay gift tax
-DE inherits DR basis, not stepped-up
In an outright gift, what are intrafamily loans and what are the consequences?
In the case that the loan interest is less than the applicable federal rate (AFR), the lender will have been deemed to have made a gift and will have to pay the difference in interest rates each year the loan is outstanding.
Annual exclusion is available for demand loans, but not for a term loan (gift is only paid once in the first year)
In an outright gift, what is a gift-leaseback and what are the consequences?
This is a gift of business property to which the closely held business leases it back from the DE at a reasonable rate.
-Removes the asset from the DR estate
-DR subject to gift tax
-Business may receive a deduction for lease payments
-DE reports lease payments as ordinary income
In an outright gift, what is a reverse gift and what are the consequences?
A gift is made to a DE that is expected to predecease the DR in order to get appreciated value through a stepped up basis. Transfer must have been complete for a year before death to work.
In an outright gift, what is a net gift and what are the consequences?
The DR makes a conditioned gift to the DE - usually in the form that the DE pays the gift tax. The DE obligation reduces the value of the gift.
Tentative tax / 1 + DR’s tax rate
In an outright gift, what are outright charitable gifts and what are the consequences?
A DR can make a deduction of all or partial interest of a qualified charitable donation. If partial, the PV of the remainder interest is what can be deducted
What are custodial gifts?
Otherwise known as UTMAs and UGMAs. Diminished by 529s. Titled in the custodians name, but ultimately the property of the minor who also pays taxes. Distributed to the minor at the age of majority. Only difference:
UTMA can be funded with real estate - UGMA cannot
When does a revocable trust become irrevocable?
At the grantors death, according to provisions in the trust docs, or when made irrevocable by the grantor.
What is the difference between a funded and unfunded inter vivid trust?
Funded - assets have been contributed
Unfunded - only the minimum amount of assets are present to legally establish the trust
T/F. The assets in any funded inter vivid or unfunded life insurance trust will not go through probate
False. Funded inter vivid and funded & unfunded life insurance trusts do not go through probate
-Enables the DR gift tax exclusion by providing present interest to the DE
-Primarily used for college
-Taxed to the trust if accumulated
-Taxed to the DE if distributed
-At 21, the DE is given the right to remove all property from the trust. If they chose not to, it becomes a grantor trust to the DE
2301(c) trust
-Used in situations when a DR has impoverished or incapacitated parents or when children or fully dependent on parents for financial support
-Must be irrevocable
-Includes spendthrift provision
-Annual exclusion not available unless Crummey powers are included
A support trust
-One beneficiary
-Use of trustee to distribute trust assets in a way that does not endanger social security or medicaid.
Supplemental needs trust
-Trust established only inter vivid
-Created solely to avoid probate
-Gifts are not complete
-May also contain QTIP
Revocable living trust
-This trust is a RLT that the grantor establishes to handle financial affairs when and if the grantor becomes incompetent to do so
-Nominally funded at the time of creation
-Must have an accompanying springing durable POA to transfer assets once incapacitated
Contingent (standby) trust