Preservation | Family Wealth Protection & Planning

This is the fourth in a four-part blog series on the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act). The first three installments can be read here.

An area of estate planning that is impacted by the changes in the recently enacted SECURE Act is the use of qualified charitable distributions (“QCDs”). A QCD is a distribution from an IRA (up to $100,000 per year, per individual) made directly to an eligible charity.

Those 70½ and older may continue to make QCDs to public charities. A QCD will count toward an individual’s RMD requirement and generally will not trigger an income tax on distribution. While the age to begin taking RMDs was raised to 72 under the SECURE Act, the age to make QCDs remains unchanged at 70½. Because QCDs are not included in income, they are typically more tax-efficient than taking a charitable deduction.

This is the third in a four-part blog series on the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act). Parts 1 and 2 can be read here. The final installment will cover how the SECURE Act affects Qualified Charitable Deductions.

As discussed in previous installments of this blog series, after the death of a retirement plan participant or IRA owner, non-eligible designated beneficiaries of a retirement account (other than a Roth) will experience an acceleration of taxable income and the loss of tax-deferred growth that was available before the recently enacted SECURE Act. This is due to the elimination of the life expectancy, or stretch, payout. If it is important to you to minimize the additional future income tax caused by the 10-year payout, there are several items worth considering.

This is the second in a four-part blog series on the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act). Part 1, an overview of the act’s key provisions, can be read here. Future installments will cover minimizing the tax burden of the act’s 10-year payout and how it affects Qualified Charitable Deductions.

This is the first in a four-part blog series on the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act). Future installments will cover more details on the impact of the SECURE Act on estate plans, minimizing the tax burden of the act’s 10-year payout, and how it affects Qualified Charitable Deductions.

How many times have you prepared your income tax returns for the previous year, only wishing you knew then what you know now, so you could go back and make more advantageous tax decisions? In most cases, you are stuck with the decisions you made before the new tax year began, even though you may not have all the relevant tax information available to assist with those decisions until several months into the new tax year. Too bad for you, says the IRS, unless you are an estate or trust.

On May 23, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives, by a vote of 417 to 3, passed legislation called Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019, or the SECURE Act. This legislation, if passed by the Senate and signed by the president, will cause significant changes for retirement planning, many of which are positive, but it also includes aspects that could have a big impact on estate planning.

Traditionally, due to lower estate tax exemption amounts, many married couples would use bypass trusts or credit shelter trusts as part of a typical estate plan. For example, on the death of the first spouse, assets in that spouse’s revocable trust would be allocated to a bypass trust (frequently referred to in the trust document as a family trust) up to the amount of the deceased spouse’s remaining estate tax exemption, with the balance allocated to a marital trust for the surviving spouse. The bypass trust would not only pass estate tax free at the first spouse’s death, but would also be outside of (i.e., bypass) the surviving spouse’s taxable estate at death. In addition, the bypass trust assets might continue from generation to generation without being subject to any additional “transfer taxes” like the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax, if GST exemption was allocated to the trust. This type of planning continues to provide a variety of benefits.

Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, died Aug. 16, 2018. Within days, her four sons filed court documents alleging that she died without a will or trust. If the court filing is confirmed and no will or trust is found, her estate will be considered “intestate.” In other words, Franklin gave no indication as to how her assets should be distributed when she died and the matter will need to be resolved under state law.

When Michael Jackson died in 2009, he left behind a convoluted legacy that has presented issues for fans and tax collectors alike, and the legal repercussions are ongoing.

At the time of his death, Jackson’s reputation had suffered from allegations of child abuse, drug use and erratic behavior. The circumstances of his death, however, heightened fans’ sympathy for the tragic “King of Pop.” Because of this, Jackson’s estate is embroiled in a legal dispute with the IRS over the value of Jackson’s name and likeness.

On Dec. 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law what is commonly known as the Tax Reform and Jobs Act of 2017 (2017 Act). As explained in more detail below, the 2017 Act increased the estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemptions. This legislation expires at the end of 2025 and the tax laws will revert to where they stood prior to the 2017 Act unless Congress makes additional changes before then.