by Bezaire, Ledwitz & Associates, APC | Last updated Feb 22, 2023 | Advance Health Care Directive, Children's Trusts, Estate Planning, HIPAA, Living Trusts, Trusts, Wills
Most people near the age of majority do not have large estates (money or property) and many families assume that this means an estate plan is completely unnecessary. This is simply not true. A comprehensive estate plan does much more than protecting property from probate and directing the disposition of assets—estate plans also tell medical and financial institutions who is authorized to make decisions on your behalf. Without current, effective documents, these institutions may refuse to release medical information and will likely not allow family members to make healthcare decisions.
by Bezaire, Ledwitz & Associates, APC | Last updated Feb 22, 2023 | Estate Planning, Same Sex Estate Planning, Trusts
Recently the United States Supreme Court ruled on United States vs. Windsor—a case that argued the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). DOMA’s Section 3 controversially defined a “marriage,” for federal tax law and benefits, as only between one man and one woman, and defined “spouse” as a person only of the opposite sex. Section 2 of DOMA also stated that states that did not allow same-sex marriages did not have to recognize those marriages from other jurisdictions. The Windsor court struck down Section 3 as unconstitutional—removing it from the statute as though it had never existed. Section 2 was not ruled on, leaving some gray area when it comes to states’ recognition of out-of-state same sex marriages. The IRS, following the decision, was decidedly less equivocal—issuing Revenue Ruling 2013-17, stating that same-sex couples, legally married in a state or foreign jurisdiction that authorizes the marriage, will be treated as married for all federal tax purposes. In California, Hollingsworth v. Perry held that Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriages in the state, was also unconstitutional—allowing California same-sex couples to join into IRS-recognized valid marriages. Notably, this does not apply to civil unions, registered domestic partnerships, or other non-marital relationships, regardless of what rights or privileges are bestowed upon those types of unions by states. So what does this decision mean for same-sex couples in an Estate Planning context? Prior to the Windsor decision, same-sex couples historically faced challenges to planning their estates, including: Persistent need to define property rights by contract. High chance of Will contests. Difficulty enforcing inheritance rights of adopted children. Simply, the IRS ruling... by Bezaire, Ledwitz & Associates, APC | Last updated Feb 22, 2023 | Estate Planning, Newsletter, Taxes, Trusts
Portability Explained Preserving Estate Tax Exemptions for Married Couples.
You’ve Been Named Successor Trustee – What Does That Mean?
FREE SEMINAR – SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE DUTIES – Wednesday April 9, 2014 at 2:00 p.m 970 W. 190TH STREET, TORRANCE, CA 90502
Spotlight: Accident Law, The Most Important Thing You Can Do Before Your Accident By James L. Pocrass, Esq. Pocrass & De Los Reyes LLP
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU REVIEWED YOUR TRUST? WE OFFER FREE THREE YEAR REVIEWS!
by Bezaire, Ledwitz & Associates, APC | Last updated Aug 11, 2020 | Estate Planning, Taxes, Trusts
A 1035 exchange is a provision in the tax code that most people have not heard about. It allows for the direct exchange of accumulated funds in a life insurance policy or annuity for another life insurance policy or annuity without creating a taxable event.
by Bezaire, Ledwitz & Associates, APC | Last updated Feb 9, 2019 | Estate Planning, Trusts
When there is a blended family with children from multiple marriages, special considerations should be placed into the estate plan.
Without proper planning, the surviving spouse could be left without the means to provide for him or herself. Additionally, we also see lopsided distributions, which typically result in one spouses children suing the others.
by Bezaire, Ledwitz & Associates, APC | Last updated Feb 25, 2020 | Estate Planning, Taxes
Here is a quick breakdown of all the basic points people should be aware regarding Estate Taxes. What are Estate Taxes? Estate taxes are paid to the federal government for the transfer of property upon death. Federal estate taxes are based on the size of the estate? What is the Current Estate Exemption? The current Exemption amount is at $5.25 Million per person. This amount is a total lifetime exemption for the estate. The exemption is not impacted by the number of beneficiaries or their relationship to the decedent. What is the Current Estate Tax Rate? Any amount over the exemption is taxed at a rate of 40%. What is the Unlimited Marital Deduction? The unlimited marital deduction means that an unlimited amount can be transferred from one spouse to another without any federal estate taxes. The federal government, currently, does not extend this deduction to same-sex marriages. The deceased spouses Estate Tax Exemption is used. This issue is set to be heard by the Supreme Court. Until the federal government recognizes gay marriage, estate planning for same-sex couples is critical. Does California Have an Inheritance Tax? No. We actually wrote it into the State’s constitution so bringing it back would require quite a bit of effort. Are There Ways of Reducing my Estate Tax Liability? The short answer is yes. There’s actually quite a few, but they go beyond the scope of this post. There are advanced estate planning strategies you could implement to reduce your tax liability. You can read more about them here: A-B trusts for Married Couples (using both exemptions) Using LLCs for income property (reduce the value by up...