The IRS recently published Rev. Proc. 2014-61, which announces the annual inflation adjustments for certain federal tax provisions for 2015. Among many other adjustments, the federal estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax exemption was increased from $5.34 million to $5.43…
Read MoreHow have federal income tax laws changed recently? While the 2012 Tax Act did not change income tax rates for most taxpayers, those individuals with incomes over $400,000 and married couples filing jointly with incomes over $450,000 are now subject…
Read MoreIn the recent decision Estate of James A. Elkins, Jr. v. Comm’r, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that artwork owned by an estate was entitled to a significant 45% valuation discount, resulting in an over $14 million estate…
Read MoreThe U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that inherited individual retirement accounts (IRAs) are not exempt assets for bankruptcy purposes, and thus can be used to satisfy the claims of bankruptcy creditors. In Clark v. Rameker, the debtor had inherited an IRA…
Read MoreA recent Tax Court case, Estate of Olsen v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo 2014-58, demonstrates the importance of proper trust funding after the first spouse’s death. In Olsen, a married couple established two revocable trust agreements during their lives as their…
Read MoreThe Washington State Court of Appeals, Division 1, recently clarified the time limit for a creditor of an estate to file a lawsuit against a personal representative who has rejected the creditor’s claim. In re Estate of Stover, involved an…
Read MoreThe Certified Professional Guardian Board, a program run by the Washington state court system which governs certified professional guardians in Washington, has revised its standards for “meaningful in-person contact” with the incapacitated person. These changes were made following the Washington…
Read MoreThe U.S. Supreme Court has granted certiorari of In re Clark, 714 F.3d 559 (7th Circuit 2013), and thus will apparently resolve a split among federal Circuit Courts of Appeals regarding whether a debtor’s inherited IRA is exempt from bankruptcy.…
Read MoreThe IRS recently published Rev. Proc. 2013-35, which announces the annual inflation adjustments for certain federal tax provisions for 2014. Among many other adjustments, the federal estate, gift and generation-skipping federal transfer tax exemption was increased from $5.25 million to…
Read MoreA recent Washington State Court of Appeals (Division I) case holds that the time during which the creditor of a probate estate can bring a claim begins to run from the mailing of the Notice to Creditors, even if the…
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