As hard as it is to believe, your children might fight over your Hummel collection, a favorite piece of jewelry or a sentimental painting. These disagreements could ultimately lead to lawsuits. In Virginia, you can add personal items to your will or trust and specify to whom you want to leave it; even a handwritten list, signed and dated by you can be legally effective. Alongside your revocable living trust, unlike relying on a will alone, your personal property titled in your living trust document will avoid the very public court administered probate process and pass privately to your heirs free from nosey neighbors and creditors.
The recent passage of the SECURE Act eliminated the ability to "stretch" your taxable distributions and related tax payments over your life expectancy if you inherit IRAs from a family member. With a few exceptions, if you inherit an IRA on or after January 1, 2020, you must now withdraw all assets from the inherited account within 10 years.
The shorter amount of time you now have as a beneficiary to hold on to an inherited IRA can cause major tax burdens which can severely diminish what you ultimately have at the end of the ten year period. Moreover, the compressed withdrawal time frame will also cause personal income tax increases on many beneficiaries because annual withdraws are also taxed as personal income to the beneficiary. Typically, tax rates increase not decrease in the future.
What is a possible tax savings alternative? Instead of having your family members as beneficiaries on your IRA when you pass you can name a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) as the sole beneficiary. The CRT is an irrevocable trust that distributes a percentage of the trust assets to one or more of your beneficiaries either for life or for a term of up to 20 years.
At the end of the term, the trust ends and the balance of the assets are paid to charity. Upon your death, your beneficiaries receive the payout per the terms written in the trust. This technique allows the beneficiaries to "stretch" the distributions over a possible 20 year period as opposed to just 10 years thus opening the possibility of saving thousands in taxes while receiving distributions as a beneficiary. The trust does not report any income nor pays a separate tax. At the end of the trust term or upon your beneficiary’s death, the balance is paid to the charities designated in the trust. Sweeter still, your estate will receive a charitable tax deduction for the projected value of the portion that will go to charity. This strategy should be a consideration for those with larger IRA accounts. Find out more at jsburton.org. #retirementplanning #charitabletrust #estateplanning
When the famed author of Jurassic Park, Micheal Crichton, died in 2008, he left two unfinished books and a wealth of publishing and media royalties for his estate to earn in practical endless perpetuity. While much of the publishing industry is primarily concerned on new writers and the living, the estates of deceased famous authors can be immensely lucrative to publishing, film and media companies. For instance, the books of Agatha Christie still earn millions of dollars annually.
A few of my clients have royalty contracts with traditional publishers, as well as modern publishers, like Amazon. Your book or media royalties may only be earning a few thousand dollars a year, but they still require planning in the event you become incapacitated or pass away. #estateplanning #royalties #books #publishing
The law firm of J.S. Burton, P.L.C. is pleased to announce that Olivia Lee, Esq. has joined the firm as a partner. Olivia focuses in the areas of estate planning, business and elder law in order to help families plan and protect their loved ones. She graduated with distinction from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in International Social Justice and a minor in Italian before obtaining her law degree as an honors student from Regent University School of Law. While in law school, she served on the Regent University Law Review Board as Lead Articles Editor and worked for the Center for Global Justice. Before joining J.S. Burton, P.L.C., she built her experience by working at multiple law firms, giving her a unique perspective and a desire to serve families. #estateplanning #elderlaw #businesslaw
An inheritance doesn’t automatically mean a worry-free life of ease. Inheriting wealth can actually create unique challenges and conflicts. A windfall can be the root of significant problems for your heirs—and therefore for you too. Advance planning is the key. Let the law firm of J.S. Burton, P.L.C. design the right estate planning strategy for you and your heirs. #estateplanning #trustadministration #fiduciary
Some of the best asset protection strategies still remain offshore, despite various attempts domestically at allowing clients to create asset protection structures. Contact us to find out why. #estateplanning #assetprotection #trusts
Does Your Adult Child Need A Trust? Increasingly more clients are asking about creating a trust for their adult children after they are gone. Reasons can range anywhere from disabilities to financial irresponsibility, substance abuse problems, creditor liabilities or just poor decisions in relationships overall.
It is routine for estate planning attorneys to establish trusts for minor children, allowing an independent Trustee to oversee the inheritance for the minors’ support until a designated age.
Trusts for adult children can be designed to protect the inheritance you bequest to a child against bankruptcy, divorce, creditor claims and their own bad decisions. In fact, modern trusts will even allow a mature child to have more say so in how the trust is managed and invested. You can even design a trust to pass from one generation to the next. Find out more at jsburton.org. #trusts #estateplanning #assetprotection
Excited to be listed in National Advocates Top 100 in 2020. #jsburtonplc #estateplanning #assetprotection
Paying capital gains taxes upon the sale of secondary residential or commercial real estate can be a difficult tax bill to swallow.
Yes. There are the traditional 1031 like-kind exchange options but often the reason you are selling your property in the first place is to diminish your overall real estate holdings.
Enter the Installment Sales Trust (IST)tm, which allows for the sale of highly appreciated real estate where the capital gains tax liabilities are paid over time not all at once. Similar in nature to a typical §453 installment sale, the IST can provide greater stability and flexibility in managing installment distributions to the seller. In addition to capital gains deferral, there can be other estate tax and asset protection planning advantages for you and your heirs. Find out more by contacting the law firm of J.S. Burton, P.L.C. #1031exchange #capitialgains #installmentsale #trusts #estateplanning
A Special Needs Trust is a separate legal entity which holds assets for individuals with special needs. Ideally, by maintaining assets within a Special Needs Trust, the monies administered inside will not negatively impact the special needs beneficiary's eligibility for public benefits, such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
Special needs planning attorneys are often asked if a Special Needs Trust can be used to pay for more high cost "lifestyle" purchases, such as a custom van for personal transportation, a wheelchair or computers for learning and communication needs. A Special Needs trust is ideal for these types of expenses because there is no spending limit as to what a Trustee may purchase on behalf of a special needs beneficiary. Even still, there are rules for how funds administered within a Special Needs Trust can be used for. For example, a beneficiary of a Special Needs Trust should never be given cash directly out of the trust. In addition, careful planning should be considered when the trust is also used to pay for housing expenses or necessities like food.
Establishing and administering a Special Needs Trust should be planned and designed with care. #specialneedstrusts #estateplanning #specialneeds #trusts
Happy Veterans Day! J.S. Burton, P.L.C. is honored to assist aging Veterans and their widows in obtaining substantial, tax free pension compensation to help provide a better quality of life when dealing with the catastrophic costs of long-term care expenses. Find out more at
https://lnkd.in/datDHd7
Regardless of which side of the political isle you are on, the two presidential candidates do have very different tax plans which could affect how your heirs inherit your assets. For instance, Biden proposes ending the current “step-up” in tax basis which heirs currently receive on real estate and other appreciated assets upon the death of a loved one. #estateplanning #tax #capitalgains
Do you want a court to decide who and how your kids are taken care of? Do you have enough life insurance to secure your kid’s financial and educational needs should something happen to you? Design an estate plan for your children’s future today. @estateplanning @trusts @wills @lifeinsurance
Stimulus payments, unemployment pay, charitable donations, medical expense and business meal deductions, retirement plan withdraws, along with capital gains tax rates are all on the table for review and consideration in 2021. #taxes #capitalgainstax #estateplanning
As we close on a challenging and difficult 2020 for so many, clients ask me which are the most important estate planning recommendations for the coming year. Here are my top 3:
1) Update Your Existing Estate Plan. A lot has changed in 2020. Covid has affected how medical directives are drafted and used. Enhanced financial powers have been added to powers of attorney. Lastly, the pandemic has proven trusts are typically the best option to handle assets when a loved one is incapacitated or passes away. For those solely relying on a will, probate courts are delayed due to the pandemic more than ever before.
2) Consider Asset Protection. Many of my clients are concerned about the catastrophic costs of long-term nursing home care should they need it. Asset protection trusts can protect your assets against lawsuits, creditor claims, and most importantly, Medicaid spend downs incurred when a loved one runs out of money in a nursing home.
3) Taxes. 2021 will bring in a new presidential administration and congress. Although it is not certain how the tax code will change, it is certain tax rates will not remain the same. Consider reviewing whether maximizing the use of your current gift and estate tax exemption amounts make sense to take advantage of the current high rates. #estateplanning #trusts # assetprotection
The attorneys and staff at J.S. Burton, P.L.C. wish you a happy holiday season. #estateplanning #asset protection #elderlaw #businesslaw
Another successful and safe drive up estate plan signing. #www.jsburton.org #estateplanning #assetprotection #trustsandestates
Happy Thanksgiving from the attorneys and staff of J.S. Burton, P.L.C. #estateplanning #assetprotection #elderlaw #businesslaw
