Posts Tagged ‘Irrevocable trusts’

Tales From The Mason Law Horror Files . . .

Once Upon A Time . . .

Margaret and Jim Anderson raised their three children, Princess, Bud and Kitten in the 1950’s and 1960’s in the Greystone area of Asheboro, North Carolina (a leafy post-WW II neighborhood of 3 and 4 bedroom homes). The three kids grew up. Bud moved to Charleston, and Kitten moved to Atlanta. Princess stayed on in Asheboro.

In 1995 Margaret suddenly died. Although Jim was bereaved, wedding bells rang in 2003 when he married Eloise Haskell, a widow from nearby Mayfield. Eloise had an only child, Eddie Haskell, who lived in Oregon. The Anderson kids had a difficult time with Eddie on the rare occasions they saw him (Eddie had a difficult time concealing his manipulative and greedy nature).

Eloise and Jim’s children maintained a friendly, but never-too-close, relationship. Things became a bit strained, especially between Eloise and Princess, when Eloise began to show some early signs of dementia in 2005 (some forgetfulness, a bit of paranoia . . . but nothing too alarming). Jim remained active and vigorous, continuing with volunteer work at a variety of charities. Then, in 2010, disaster: Jim suddenly died.

After the funeral, Princess found a copy of Jim’s old will naming Princess as executor. She made an appointment with Bob Mason and asked him “tell me what to do?”

Princess, We Have a Problem . . .

Jim’s 2004 will left a life estate in the Greystone house to Eloise and also left all household furnishings to Eloise (with the proviso that Eloise allow Jim’s kids to have whatever). The will left the rest of Jim’s estate to his children.

After some research Bob discovered that in 2005 Jim deeded a tenancy by the entireties interest in the Greystone home to Eloise (a type of estate in land in which spouses own the land together and in which the surviving spouse takes the entire interest upon the death of the first spouse to die).

Bob also noted from documents dropped off by Princess that Jim’s Acme Investment Advisors mutual fund was titled in his and Eloise’ name.

After Princess qualified as Executor, Bob discovered that two other bank accounts were jointly titled with Eloise and that she had been beneficiary of Jim’s IRA since 2005.

At a followup meeting, Bob delivered the bad news.

“Let’s Get Bud and Kitten on a Conference Call”

In an Anderson family meeting (Bud and Kitten called in, Princess spent most of the time with the tissue box in the conference room), Bob explained that the Greystone home they were raised in became Eloise’s home (outright, to do with as she pleased, and not “just a life estate”) upon Jim’s death by virtue of the 2005 tenancy by the entireties deed. The will didn’t really matter.

Bob also explained that the jointly owned accounts were now owned by Eloise, and that as IRA beneficiary she was entitled to that account. Again, the will didn’t matter.

Bud and Princess both agreed that Eloise’s son, Eddie Haskell, “had a lot of lawyer friends.” They said that Eddie had been extremely ingratiating to Jim for years and “he probably talked Jim into setting up everything that way.”  Bob explained that it would be very difficult to prove undue influence or fraud many years after Jim had retitled the house and the accounts . . . especially when Jim had been so active (and obviously in command of his mental faculties) up until his death.

To Add Insult to Injury . . .

Princess called Eloise and attempted (very politely) to ask if Princess could have some of the furniture, silver and china that had been her parents. Eloise grew vague and mumbled something about “thinking about it.”

When Princess called back a few weeks later Eloise exploded and demanded that Princess leave her alone and that if she kept pestering her she would have Eddie contact a lawyer.

Options?

None.

What Should Have Been Done?

You tell me! A copy of the 9 1/2 hour DVD set “Elder Law University” ($149 value) will be given to the best response in the comment section below. The August 1 issue of Elder Law Update (and an accompanying post here) will discuss a few of my recommendations . . . and, of course, announce a winner

So . . . post away!

 

PS: IF YOU ARE ONE OF MY LAWYER READERS NO YOU CAN’T PARTICIPATE!!

 

AND NOW . . . HEH, HEH, HEH . . . THE ANSWER

Two weeks later and here we are.

Of course, the correct answer was Don James’ (below): He should have hired ME! But since he didn’t . . .

Billie Hansen, Kelly Anderson, and Celeste Spence all mentioned a wonderful idea . . . . COMMUNICATION! What a novel idea! True, people procrastinate, but marriages at any age are a major milestone. Out of a love and kindness to both families there should have been some frank discussions ahead of time.

The problem often is that no matter how well planned a will may be, they are relatively easy to change. A properly drafted prenuptial agreement can create enforceable rights in later heirs if the parties to the prenuptial agreement specify and agree that they will maintain valid wills that make the desired dispositions to various family members. Even if they later change their wills or titles to real property there may be a cause of action available to the heirs. Prenuptial agreements do nothing, however, to protect assets if this older couple is concerned about protecting assets in the event the new bride or groom ends up in a nursing home. Medicaid counts the assets of both members of a married couple, and North Carolina has something called the “Doctrine of Necessaries.” Under that old doctrine, each of a husband and wife are legally obligated for the other’s medical care regardless of any agreement they may have had between each other (this doesn’t apply if one is on Medicaid). In those cases a “prenup” wouldn’t have mattered, although a prenup is good to establish other understandings.

If the house was the major concern (as is often the case) Jim could have established either a revocable or irrevocable trust and titled the house in the name of the trust. He could have named Bud or Princess as the trustee (or perhaps even co-Trustee with Jim). The trust could have specified that Eloise would have a life estate in the home upon Jim’s death. It could have also specified that at any time after the establishment of the trust the house could not be taken out of trust without the written agreement of all trustees (that would have prevented Jim from later adding Eloise’s name to a tenancy by the entireties title).

There really is no ONE correct answer other than Jim and Eloise, out of love for their children, should have opened up the communications channels and been willing to seek some guidance.

This was a sad story.

The winners:

Don James is a CPA and hangs out with too many lawyers! (Sorry, Don) I couldn’t decide between Billie, Kelly and Celeste . . . so I’ll send each one an Elder Law University DVD set.  Ladies, please send your mailing address to Stacey Kinney at:  sck (at) masonlawpc.com (replace the “(at)” with an “@” and close up the spaces!

For more reading on second marriage issues go see Tying the Knot . . . Or Just Moving In?

Vacation property and “second homes” – whether in the mountains or at the beach – present a number of legal and tax planning opportunities.

Avoid Probate With A Trust

First, consider probate avoidance, particularly if the property is located in a state other than the owner’s primary residence. The problem arises when the owner dies with title to the property in her name.

In addition to a probate proceeding in the owner’s state of residence, there will need to be an “ancillary probate” proceeding in the state of the second residence. A Big Hassle.

A fairly simple revocable trust, or living trust, could completely avoid the probate process in the second state. Before the “owners” death the trust owns the property. After the “owners” death, the trust continues as the record owner. Thus, no probate.

Use A Trust To Protect Property

Certain types of trusts can be created that protect the property for the family after the incapacity of the principal owner. If the trust is irrevocable and correctly designed, the property will not count for Medicaid purposes. Start early, however, because it’ll take five years to completely protect the home for Medicaid.

While in the trust, the property will also be immune from the liabilities of the children the owner may have originally been thinking of transferring the property to.

Trusts Are Tax Smart

Further, if the property is transferred directly to the children, the parent’s “tax basis” also transfers to the children. Tax basis is simply the floor value used for calculating the “profit” that someone will realize if they sell the property.

In the hands of the person who bought the property, tax basis will be what he paid for the property. In the hands of a person who inherited the property, basis will be whatever the property was worth when the person inherited the property. Importantly, in the hands of a person who received the property as a gift, basis will be the same as the basis of the person who made the gift.

What difference does this make? Say Jack’s basis in Palm Isle is $25,000 because that is what he paid for it or because that is what dad’s basis was when he gave it to Jack. Later Jack sells the property for $100,000. His “gain” or profit is $75,000. Uncle Sam and most states are keenly interested in gain, because they tax it!

On the other hand, if Jack put the property in a properly designed trust that provided his children would receive the property on Jack’s death, and on Jack’s death the property is worth $100,000, that will be the basis in the hands of the children. If they sell the property for $100,000 there will be no (as in zero) taxable gain. Not too shabby.

Wait, there’s more. If the property is Jack’s principal residence and the trust has been properly designed, the trust will qualify for the capital gains tax exclusion that would apply if Jack directly sold his residence. To use a South Carolina term, that is “elegantly shabby”.

According to conventional wisdom you should always name your spouse as beneficiary of an IRA. Let’s smash some traditional pumpkins (I am writing this in October, after all). Read on to understand why it might be a great idea to name a trust as the beneficiary of an IRA and what some of the trade-offs of doing so are.

Standing on Tradition: Naming The Spouse As IRA Beneficiary

There really is a good reason for naming the spouse as IRA beneficiary . . . much of the time. As I have written, the beauty of an IRA is that the longer money can be allowed to languish in an IRA, the more it will grow without being burdened by taxes. Because of that, the usual thinking is to try and take out as little as possible. On the other hand, there are all sorts of tax rules about when someone MUST take distributions and how much those distributions must be. Remember the rule:

SOMEDAY, SOMEHOW, SOMEONE WILL PAY TAXES ON THE IRA.

Why Naming A Spouse The IRA Beneficiary Is So Slick (Usually)

If a spouse “inherits” an IRA, she can treat it as her own. This means she does not have to begin distributions until she is 70 ½. When she does begin taking distributions she can use a special table that assumes she has a husband 10 years younger (heh, heh, heh) even though she may have just become a widow. That means MUCH smaller mandatory distributions because they are being spread out over her life and the life of Mister-Make-Believe-Ten-Years-Younger-Romeo.

The special spousal rules for inherited IRAs also say that she can name the kids as beneficiaries and upon her death they will have separate IRAs they can take out over their life expectancies (although I have found – quite nonscientifically – that most IRAs inherited by adult children quickly become new cars or tuition payments!).

On The Other Hand . . .

Sometimes naming a spouse as IRA beneficiary is a bad idea. There may be reasons that outweigh the usual good tax reasons for naming a spouse. For example, I often encounter couples concerned about protecting assets for a surviving spouse in case he or she ever needs to go into a nursing home. An IRA left directly to a spouse will be a countable asset for Medicaid purposes. There may be other good asset protection motives involved, as well.

The solution may be to name a trust as the beneficiary of the IRA. That way, IRA assets may be protected while remaining available to benefit the surviving spouse.

There are a number of ways a trust can be designed, depending upon what the client and I are trying to accomplish. Much of how a trust will be treated depends upon whether it is something the IRS calls a “designated beneficiary.”

Is A Trust A Designated Beneficiary?

If a trust benefits only real live (as in “beating hearts living”) people then the trust will be a “designated beneficiary.” If a trust says “Mom is the primary beneficiary, then the kids” that will suffice. If the trust says “Mom may receive some, but not necessarily all benefits, then when Mom dies the North Carolina Zoo takes” the trust will not be a designated beneficiary.

If a trust is NOT a “designated beneficiary” of an IRA, then the IRA must be distributed within five years if the owner dies before 70 ½. If an IRA is not huge, being forced to completely distribute it within five years is not necessarily bad.

If the owner dies after age 70 ½, however, then the trust can take distributions over what would have been the deceased owner’s life expectancy had he been alive each year. That actually will be a bit faster than if he had been alive and married because the rules use different tables that calculate distributions as if the deceased owner were still alive and single. On the other hand, for older spouses about the same age, there may not be too much difference. The difference is if Mom had inherited directly she would have used a table that pretended there was the “Ten Year Younger Romeo” (slower distributions to account for the younger Romeo’s added life expectancy) but the trust is stuck with using a single person’s table (faster).

Bottom line: If a trust fails the “designated beneficiary” rule it means the IRA must be distributed over five years if the owner died before age 70 ½ and over the owner’s life expectancy (pretending he is alive and single) if he dies after age 70 ½.

Should Everything Be Distributed To Mom?

If we set up a trust to qualify as a “designated beneficiary” the next issue is to decide whether to make the trustee pay out to Mom all of the distributions the IRS says the trust MUST take from the IRA (this is called a “conduit trust”), or to let those IRA distributions accumulate inside the trust (where they are protected).

If the trust is a conduit trust, Mom gets all IRA distributions and she pays all income taxes (probably at her low tax rate). Also, if a trust is a conduit trust the IRA distributions can be stretched out a little bit more than if the trust was an accumulation trust. It also means that if Mom goes to the nursing home on Medicaid, all of those IRA distributions will be paid to the nursing home before Medicaid kicks in.

If the trust gives the trustee the right to accumulate IRA distributions and to decide whether to pay some, all, or none of the IRA distributions through to Mom, the IRA will be distributed to the trust slightly faster, but the assets will be safe from nursing home expenses. To the extent the trustee decides not to distribute to Mom (maybe she is in a nursing home on Medicaid) the IRA distributions being held in the trust will be subject to income taxation at much higher rates than Mom would have paid had the trustee passed the IRA distributions on to Mom. On the other had, if they were paid out to Mom, everything would be gone!

Get Help!

This is a complex topic. The purpose of this brief article was to give an overview of the possible advantages of naming a trust as IRA beneficiary. Sometimes it is a great idea, and other times it may be a really bad idea. Bring it up with your attorney or financial advisor and see what she says.