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Recent Developments in Estate Planning (Part 1)

This is the first part of a two-part article examining developments in estate, gift, and trust income tax between June 2014 and May 2015. Part 1 discusses gift and estate tax developments.

Final Rules Guide Use of Portable Estate Tax Exclusion

Final rules govern the requirements for electing portability of a deceased spouse’s unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse and the rules for the surviving spouse’s use of that amount.

Gifts to Trust Qualify for Annual Exclusion

The Tax Court held that the withdrawal rights provided in a trust declaration were not illusory and that therefore a married couple’s gifts to the trust were gifts of present interests in property that qualified for the annual exclusion.

Basis Rules for Estates of 2010 Decedents Proposed

Proposed regulations would apply to decedents who died in 2010 and whose executors elected under Sec. 1022 to not have the retroactively reinstated estate tax apply to the decedents’ estates.

Using a Crummey Trust to Preserve Gift Tax Exclusion

In the typical Crummey trust, a periodic contribution of assets to the trust is accompanied by an immediate withdrawal power that gives the beneficiary the right to withdraw the contribution for a limited time.