Clearwater, Florida Estate Planning Blog
What is your liability as a fiduciary for estate or trust tax returns?
No authority exists in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), the Treasury Regulations thereunder or case law that imposes a duty on a taxpayer to file an amended tax return to correct an error or omission on a previously filed tax return if the...
Florida Enters the Digital Age with New Legislation!
All of us have digital assets and electronic communications. Our Facebook pages, the Google emails, the bitcoins, the domain names… all are new assets since the estate planning profession has been in existence. Much confusion exists as to what a fiduciary can and can...
Some Tax Extenders On the Way
Several favorable tax benefits expired on December 31, 2013. For several years these benefits have expired only to see Congress “resurrect” them in the following year. The unpredictability of what laws will be extended creates havoc with tax preparers and taxpayers...
Recent PLR Clarifies Late Allocation of GSTT Exemption With Defective Split Gift
As discussed in a prior blog, the generation skipping transfer tax (“GSTT”) is a draconian tax of 40% on transfers to certain unrelated individuals younger than 37.5 years of the transferor, grandchildren and more remote descendants. Fortunately, however, Congress...
Separate or Joint Trust.. That is the Question!
In the past, when the estate tax applicable exclusion amount (“AEA”) was $3.5 million or less, attorneys generally drafted 2 separate trusts for our married clients so that each client could take advantage of EACH of their AEA. Now that a spouse has the ability to...
Details Matter When Completing A Beneficiary Designation!
A recent federal case, originating in Florida, illustrates the importance of compliance with the EXACT requirements to designate a beneficiary for a 401(k) and ESOP plan. In Arlene Ruiz V. Publix Super Markets, Inc., a federal district court determined that an intent...
Internet Sales Tax?
On Monday May 6, the Senate passed the Market Place Fairness Act (the “act”) that allows state and local governments to subject online shopping to state sales taxes. The act now moves to the House for a vote. If it passes the House, it will go to President Obama for...
Can Your IRA Own A Business You Want To Operate?
A lot of wealth is in IRAs. Accordingly, many individuals who want to buy a business want to use those funds to buy the business. Unfortunately, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) has strict regulations on what an IRA owner can and can not do with an IRA. When the...
Rollover is more than a dog trick! Watch out for limitations on the IRA Rollover.
Individual Retirement Accounts (“IRAs”) are accounts that many of us have to save for retirement. The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) provides favorable tax consequences while the accounts are held for retirement and the earnings on such funds grow tax free....
Obama’s 2014 Revenue Proposal
President Obama’s administration released its fiscal year 2014 revenue proposals (the “Proposal”). The Proposal has many provisions that affect both the individual taxpayer and Trusts and Estates. The following is a brief synopsis of the important provisions. (1)...