Most people do not look into the subject of estate planning very thoroughly, so they often make assumptions that are not accurate. One of them is the idea that you have to settle for limitations with regard to the goals that can be accomplished with devices like wills and trusts.
In fact, there are some advanced estate planning strategies that can beimplemented to address certain scenarios that may exist. You should definitelydiscuss the possibilities with an estate planning lawyer, because the idealsolution may be available to you.
The Federal Estate Tax & Non-Citizen Spouses
There are a good number of affluent people in our area, and if you have beenparticularly successful from a financial standpoint, you have to be concernedabout potential estate tax exposure. Fortunately, there is no state-levelestate tax here in Ohio, but the federal estate tax can certainly be a factor.
This tax is applicable on the portion of your estate that exceeds the amountof the federal estate tax credit or exclusion. At the time of this writing in2020, the exclusion stands at $11.58 million. The top rate of the tax is 40percent, so it can significantly reduce the value of your legacy.
The federal estate tax is applicable on asset transfers to anyone other thanyour spouse, as long as your spouse is an American citizen. Things are quitedifferent if you are married to someone who is a citizen of another country.You cannot use the marital deduction if your spouse is not a citizen of theUnited States.
As a response, if you are married to a non-citizen, you can establish a Qualified Domestic Trust. To implement this estate tax efficiency strategy, you convey assets into the trust, and your spouse would be the first beneficiary. You would name final beneficiaries to inherit the assets after you are gone, and this would presumably be your children.
If you predecease your spouse, the trustee that you name in the trustdeclaration would be able to receive distributions of income that is earned bythe trust. The estate tax would not be applicable on these transfers.
You could give the trustee the discretion to distribute portions of the principalor corpus, but these distributions would be subject to the tax, with onecaveat. It would be possible to petition the IRS to grant a hardship exemption,and if it is granted, there would be no imposition of the death tax.
After the death of your surviving spouse, if the assets in the trust exceedthe amount of the exclusion, the estate tax would be applied on the transfersto the final beneficiaries. However, there would not be two impositions of thetax, and your final legacy would be available to your children.
Incentive Trusts
Another situation that can be addressed through the implementation of anadvanced strategy would be the matter of behavioral control. To explain by wayof example, let’s say that you have a grandson who you love dearly, but he hasalways struggled with substance abuse. He has had periods of remission, but attimes, he has relapsed.
You definitely want to include your grandson in your estate plan, but youdon’t want him to squander a significant inheritance as he indulges hisaddictions. Under these circumstances, you could establish and fund anincentive trust.
In the trust declaration, you could instruct the trustee to makedistributions as long as your grandson is refraining from destructive behavior.This is one example, but you can include any incentives that you want to, aslong as you are not requiring the beneficiary to do something illegal.
Schedule a Consultation (Remote Meetings Can Be Arranged)!
We have looked at acouple of specific, pointed scenarios here to make the point that there aremany effective tools in the estate planning toolkit. The best course of actionwill depend upon the circumstances, and this is why personalized attention is key.
This is exactly what youwill get when you connect with our firm. If you are ready, we are willing. Youcan send us a message to request a consultation, and we can be reached by phone at513-721-1513.
- What You Need to Know about Elder Abuse - May 18, 2023
- Celebrate Older Americans Month This May - May 16, 2023
- Why Incapacity Planning Should Be Included in Your Estate Plan - May 11, 2023
