Estate Planning

By Alicia L. Hoffman

Whether you are a long time Lahti, Lahti & O’Neill, PC client, or have just recently met with us, you have probably noticed the same trend; we ask a lot of questions.  From the status of your health, to the age of your children, to the value of your assets, we want to know it all. You may be wondering why we are so inquisitive. 

In the realm of estate planning and elder law, we make sure no stone goes unturned. When you come to us for advice, we make sure we find out as much information as possible about you, your family, your assets, as well as your wishes and goals. Not only are we using this information to draft estate planning documents for you, but we want to make sure we’ve ruled out any other concerns that you may not have considered, such as estate taxation or exposure to creditors.

By Michael T. Lahti

In this blog I would like to write about my recent health episode, as it put in clear focus why estate planning is so important.

During a routine yearly “scope,” I become one of the approximately one in 200 persons who gets a “bleed.”  What this means is that an artery was nicked during the procedure.

By Michael T. Lahti

Now that your estate plan is signed, sealed and properly funded, don’t think you can forget about it for the next ten years.

There are times when normal every day events can (and will) affect your estate plan. Part of your overall planning should be to contact your estate planning attorney when these events occur, so your plan can be reviewed and updated.

Following is a series of potentially life altering events that could affect your estate plan. Any of these occurrences should be brought to the attention of your estate planning attorney:

• Having a new child, or adopting a new child.
• A change in your marital status.
• A new daughter-in-law or son-in-law in the family.
• The death of a loved one mentioned in your estate plan.
• A change in health for you, your spouse or your children.
• Inheriting substantial assets.
• A change in the tax code.
• Buying or selling a business.
• Acquiring sizable new assets.
• A setback in personal finances.
• A change in your permanent residency.
• Your executor dies or becomes incapacitated.
• Retiring.
• Winning the lottery. Good luck!

By Michael T. Lahti

As part of our goal of keeping you informed of breaking news in Estate Planning and Elder Law, Lahti, Lahti & O’Neill, P.C. will be sending you occasional blogs via email.  As we hear of the changes in federal and state laws, we will send you notices of areas of law that we think you may find relevant or interesting.

Below I have provided excerpts from President Obama's fiscal 2016 budget proposal that have to do with estate and gift taxation.  Personally, I feel that considering the turbulence among lawmakers at this point, the chance of these being implemented in their presented form is extremely remote.  Nevertheless, if they were to pass, the proposals would have a profound effect on the taxes some estates would pay.  And, even if the proposals do not go anywhere, these excerpts show us what some lawmakers are thinking at this point.

Modify Estate and Gift Tax Provisions

Restore the estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax parameters in effect in 2009. -- Under current law, estates, gifts, and GSTs are taxed at a maximum tax rate of 40 percent with a lifetime exclusion of $5 million, indexed for inflation after 2011. The Administration proposes to restore and permanently extend estate, gift, and GST tax parameters as they applied for calendar year 2009. Under those parameters, estates and GSTs would be taxed at a maximum tax rate of 45 percent with a life-time exclusion of $3.5 million. Gifts would be taxed at a maximum tax rate of 45 percent with a lifetime exclusion of $1 million. These parameters would be effective for the estates of decedents dying and transfers made after December 31, 2015, and would not be indexed for inflation.

By Michael T. Lahti

Tax Notes Today reported that President Obama has backed off a recent proposal to tax any earnings accumulated on new contributions to section 529 qualified tuition plans.  The controversial proposal was part of the broader tax plan that the White House outlined before Obama delivered his State of the Union address on January 20. Under the president's original plan, several education saving tax incentives, including the very popular 529 plans enacted in 2001 and tax incentives for Coverdell education plans, would have been repealed or redirected into a new, expanded version of the American opportunity tax credit.

This proposal drew swift backlash from lawmakers on both the right and the left, and since, the president has apparently decided to leave the 529 proposal out of his fiscal 2016 budget plan, scheduled for release February 2.  "Given it has become such a distraction, we're not going to ask Congress to pass the 529 provision so that they can instead focus on delivering a larger package of education tax relief that has bipartisan support, as well as the President's broader package of tax relief for child care and working families," The New York Times quoted a White House official as saying on January 27.

By Michael T. Lahti 

As reported in a recent article (the LISI Estate Planning Newsletter #2268 (January 9, 2015 discussing the court decision in Brenner et. al. v. Scott et. al. and Grimsley et. al. v. Scott et. al. (“Brenner/Grimsley”)), Florida became the 35th state plus the District of Columbia in which same-sex marriage is legal. With this victory, many have asked whether this now ends the long battle for same-sex marriage in Florida, and with it all of the complications of being a ‘non-recognition state.’   Unfortunately not.  In actuality, this is only the beginning of the issues that need to be unraveled in Florida subsequent to the decision.  The article raised several issues concerning the effect of retroactivity after the decision.

By Michael T. Lahti 

While professional athletes are famous for squandering their fortunes after retiring, the sad story of former baseball player Darryl Strawberry stand out as an example of what can happen when estate and financial planning is disregarded.

On January 20, 2015 taxpayers can join in an auction for the "right to receive on-going monthly payments" under the contract Mr. Strawberry signed with the New York Mets in 1985, according to a notice of judicial sale posted online by the IRS and Treasury. The minimum bid will be $550,000.