Why You Aren’t Really Limited to $14,000 in Gifts Each Year
APRIL 27, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 16 There is so much misinformation (and misunderstanding) around gift taxes, that we thought we would take a few moments and try to straighten out the confusion. Let’s start at the end: if you live in Arizona, and are not fabulously wealthy, you probably don’t actually care very much […]
Health Care Directives — Advice for Snowbirds and Travelers
APRIL 20, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 15 Arizona weather is beautiful, especially this time of year. We do have our weather challenges — for most of the state, that means the summer months — but there is no doubt that Arizona is attractive to visitors from more northern climes during the fall, winter and spring. […]
Managing a Special Needs Trust — The Handbook
APRIL 13, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 14 Are you named as trustee of a special needs trust? Are you a trust beneficiary, wondering about how the trust should be administered? Or are you a parent or grandparent of an individual with a disability, wondering about what a special needs trust might actually look like in […]
Income Taxation of Trusts — Not Just Special Needs Trusts
APRIL 6, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 13 We have previously explained the income taxation of self-settled special needs trusts and third-party special needs trusts. We focused on special needs trusts because, well, that’s what we do — and also because there seems to be so much confusion about special needs trusts. But that is not […]
Income Taxation of the Third-Party Special Needs Trust
MARCH 23, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 12 Last week we wrote about how to handle income tax returns for self-settled special needs trusts. Our simple message: such trusts will always be “grantor trusts”, an income tax term that means they do not pay a separate tax or even file a separate return. This week we’re […]
Income Taxation of the Self-Settled Special Needs Trust
MARCH 16, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 11 This time of year, we are often asked about income tax issues — especially when a trust is involved. It may take us several newsletters, but let’s see if we can’t demystify the income taxation of trusts. We will start with the type of trust we most often […]
Does Your Existing Trust Split Into Two Shares On a Spouse’s Death?
MARCH 9, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 10 A letter from a reader asks: “My husband and I set up a revocable trust which will divide our assets in half when one of us dies. This was to avoid estate taxes. Now that estate taxes are no longer a problem, are there still benefits to splitting […]
Choosing a Personal Representative for Your Estate
Have you decided who you should name as personal representative of your estate (and successor trustee of your trust, and agent under your financial and health care powers of attorney)? Make sure you’ve chosen wisely. Consider what can go wrong, as described this week in the Wills, Trusts and Estates Professor’s Blog.
Financial Exploitation Case Leads to Judgment, Disinheritance
MARCH 2, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 9 We hear variations on this same story once every week or so. Dad (it might be Mom, or Aunt Bridget, or a long-time family friend) seemed to be adrift after his wife (her husband, her long-time companion) died. Then he met this woman who moved in with him […]
Nursing Home Resident’s Lawyer Did Nothing Wrong
FEBRUARY 23, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 8 From time to time we report on cases in which lawyers are disciplined for behavior involving clients who are older or have disabilities. We do that not out of any sense of schadenfreude, but because the behavior described in the disciplinary proceeding is illustrative of an important limitation […]
