(Estate Planners) - As far as the Internal Revenue Service is concerned, and for the purpose of taxation, there are two types of trusts, simple and complex. If a trust is classified as simple, this merely refers to how the trustee distributes income to the beneficiaries of the trust.

Read the rest of this entry »

(Estate Planners) - One type of grantor trust that is useful in estate planning is a grantor trust. This trust allows the grantor (the individual who establishes the trust) to have control over the trust assets and receive income that is created from the trust. The grantor trust is often called a living trust or a revocable trust.

Read the rest of this entry »

(Estate Planners) - A dynasty trust is a type of generation-skipping trust that can provide substantial savings on estate tax. When you consider the fact that estate tax can climb to a rate that is as much as fifty-five percent, and that each generation will have to pay estate taxes, you could hypothetically save up to eighty percent of your estate throughout the course of three generations.

Read the rest of this entry »

(Estate Planners) - Don’t let its name fool you; the Crummey trust is a very viable option in estate planning. The Crummey trust can be used to legally avoid the payment of estate or gift tax when transferring money or other assets to someone else. And as a bonus, the grantor (person establishing the Crummey trust) can still specify to a certain degree how the transferred money and assets are used.

Read the rest of this entry »

(Estate Planners) - All trusts must be classified in one of two ways for the purpose of paying federal income taxes – as a simple trust or a complex trust. Basically, a complex trust is one that cannot be classified as simple. In a nutshell, the complex trust is one that contains provisions for charitable gifts, an income stream, or concerns other types of wealth distribution.

Read the rest of this entry »

(Estate Planners) - Customarily, when a person creates a last will and testament, or will, the will is drafted as a formal written document with specific language that is valid for the jurisdiction where the will is written. This will formally and legally dictates how the testator (the person making the will) wishes to dispose of and distribute their property and assets when they die.

Read the rest of this entry »

(Estate Planners) - One type of testamentary instrument that is widely used in combination with a trust that was created during a person’s lifetime is a pour over will. A pour over will typically dictates that, when the testator passes away, all assets and property that they own that have not previously been transferred into the trust during the person’s lifetime automatically pour over into the trust.

Read the rest of this entry »

(Estate Planners) - An oral will, also sometimes referred to as a nuncupative will, as the name suggests, is merely a verbal accounting of a testator of how he or she wishes for property and assets to be distributed upon death. The oral will is similar to a traditional (written) will, but is spoken. It is rare for an oral will to be used in modern times, although it is certainly a viable option in some circumstances, such as in an emergency situation where there is no time for a written will to be prepared before death occurs.

Read the rest of this entry »

(Estate Planners) - When two people make a will together, the instrument is known as a joint will. In a joint will, the two people making the will bequeath all of their assets and property to one another. The joint will also contains provisions concerning the distribution of assets and property when the second person passes away.

Read the rest of this entry »

(Estate Planners) - The holographic or handwritten will is a “step above” having no will at all. This type of will is considered valid in many states; in fact, in almost thirty states, even a holographic or handwritten will that has not been witnessed is valid. The holographic will must be prepared in the handwriting of the testator. Even in states that recognize the validity of a handwritten will, the laws are very strict and particular.

Read the rest of this entry »