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Taxation & Estate Planning

New Jersey Estate & Elder Planning Blog

Thoughts and comments on Business, Estate and Elder Law
By Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss, Esq.

Post Frequency: 0.7/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 10:46:55

Estate Tax Deal? 35%, 5 Million exemption, 2 years only

Posted on December 07, 2010
The Obama Administration and Republicans have apparently reached a deal on the estate tax reports Derek Jensen: President Obama and Republicans have apparently come to terms on extending the Bush era tax cuts and believe it or not that deal includes the estate tax...

Estate Tax, AMT, etc - Has Washington forgetten about the Other Taxes

Posted on December 06, 2010
So Dem and GOP appear to all agree to extend this years income tax rates to next year - avoiding a jump in income and capital gains taxes when the ball falls on New Years Eve. This has been greeted with great fanfare in the press and an apparent sigh of relief and an attitude of "well, that's done now, on with Holiday shopping!"...

Frank Financial Candor a Key Ingredient to Successful Second Marriages

Posted on December 02, 2010
I was recently interviewed about the question of what conversations should couples entering into second marriages have? In a second marriage, not only are you bringing more experience to the table, but also a potentially more complicated financial picture...

Year End Sale on Gift Tax - The Fine Print

Posted on November 17, 2010
That's right - the gift tax is on sale this year, but the opportunity is closing fast. You have until December 21, 2010 to act on the biggest gift tax sale I have seen in my years of practice. But what is the fine print? Each person has a $1 million exemption from gift tax for gifts during their lifetime in excess of the annual exclusion amounts of $13,000 per gift recipient per year...

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Showdown at the OleTax Corral

Posted on November 15, 2010
The people have spoken and the end is drawing near. The people are all of us who exercised our right to vote earlier this month and the end is the end of the tax cuts passed in 2001. If Congress does nothing, here is what happens to Income Taxes come January 1, 2011 (courtesy of savingtoinvest...

Personal Injury Settlements - Taxable or Not?

Posted on November 01, 2010
You've been injured in a car accident. Thank goodness you're OK, but you broke your arm in addition to other bangs, cuts and scrapes and your back still feels out of wack. You were out of work to recover and then find work to be more difficult. You settle the case and all the damages you suffered are reduced a an amount of money...

Nursing Home, Assisted Living, Home Health Care Costs 2010

Posted on October 27, 2010
No surprise, but nursing home and assisted living costs are on the rise. MetLife has produced and published its annual "2010 Market Survey of Long-Term Care Costs". This is a great source to do a check of what is a good, reasonable, or high rate for care in your area (they have national and state-by-state analysis of the costs of nursing home, assisted living, and home health care, a break-down of costs by metropolitan areas within a state, and even an adult day care survey)...

Bagel with or without a schmeer of Tax?

Posted on October 25, 2010
New York City is justifiably known for its bagels - having lived in other parts of the country I can testify that it must be something in the water because they just can't get bagels right in Boston, Charlotte, Tampa or LA. What can't New York get right? How it taxes its famous bagels...

I signed a contract to Buy my first House - Now What? The Attorney Review Process.

Posted on October 21, 2010
So you just took the plunge and signed a contract to buy your first house. Congratulations! You sit around the kitchen table with your Realtor and sign "the papers". Are you done? Do you now have a deal? Not exactly...

Avoid a Guardinaship - Acquire a Power of Attorney

Posted on October 15, 2010
Many times estate planning is focused on "what happens when I die"? Often overlooked is the element of estate planning for while you are alive - namely designating and empowering someone to make decisions for you if you can't make them for yourself...

Avoid a Guardianship - Acquire a Power of Attorney

Non-Profits - Pay Attention - You could lose your tax exempt status on October 15

Posted on October 12, 2010
Calling all non-profits - Act NOW or lose your tax exempt status. The bad news - any non-profit that has not filed its income tax return Form 990-N by October 15, 2010 will lose its tax exempt status and need to reapply. The good news - you still have time to fix the problem...

The Art of the Estate Plan

Posted on October 12, 2010
So, is estate planning an art or a science? The Wall Street Journal finds today that "Estate Planning: It's an Art, Not a Science". The article posits: "It is logical that an estate plan should offer a clear map of what a person owns, but this isn't always the case...

Is a Will a Will? The Devil is in the Details

Posted on October 04, 2010
If you mean for a Will to be your Last Will and Testament, will it be? While the answer is "most likely" my colleague Don Vanarelli, Esq. has a great post outlining a set of facts where the decedent clearly intended her Last Will and Testament to be different, but that details of execution prevented if from being admitted as such...

LeBron James Team Selection for Tax Purposes Revisited

Posted on September 27, 2010
I blog because I enjoy talking to people about things that interest me - including how how tax policy drives individual behavior (everyone has to have their passions after all). The best feedback is to get a dialog from another person who not only reads the blog (thank you very much) but is generous enough with their time to respond to a post with their own analysis...

Forget the Estate Tax - What about the Medicaid Death Tax

Posted on September 17, 2010
The estate tax, even at a $1 million exemption amount, applies to only 2% of Americans at death. Medicaid estate recovery can apply to anyone over the age of 55. Jeffrey A. Marshall, CELA* at Marshall Elder & Estate Planning Blog has a great post today "Medicaid Estate Recovery - A Medicaid Death Tax" asking why there is so much noise and media coverage about the estate tax when Medicaid estate recovery rules essentially act as a death tax on the poorest of seniors...

Death,Taxes and the NFL - Does Your Business have a Plan for the Final Exit from the Field?

Posted on September 15, 2010
<p><img width="250" height="192" vspace="5" hspace="5" align="left" alt="" src="http://images.forbes.com/media/lists/30/2010/new-york-giants.jpg" />If you or your family owns a business, you've heard from many advisors "You need to have an exit strategy"...

Considering Becoming a Florida Resident? Cut those Ties to New Jersey

Posted on September 13, 2010
Truth - New Jersey is the most expensive state to die in. Consequence - A great estate planning technique is to not be a New Jersey resident when you die. Many people have second homes in Florida and say "well, I'll just become a Florida resident...

5 Reasons to Think About Making Gifts in 2010

Posted on September 10, 2010
I came across this great summary of 5 reasons to consider making gifts in 2010 by Marilyn J. Maag through Lexis Nexis Estate Practice & Elder Law Community (I follow them on Twitter). Changes in tax rates - the gift tax rate is scheduled to go up from 35% to 60% in 2011 unless Congress acts Low asset values - particularly for real estate and family businesses Low applicable federal interest rates - make techniques such as Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRAT) more successful Restrictions on Intra-Family Transfers - may become law next year Valuation Discounts - may be going away Image: Francesco Marino / FreeDigitalPhotos...

Tax Benefits Stay with Life Estate Owner

Posted on September 08, 2010
Will your taxes change if you make a gift of real estate subject to a life estate over a straight gift of real estate? Guest blogger Stacey Crowell Maiden, Esq., Of Counsel to our Trusts and Estates and Elder Law Practice Group provides an explanation of this common, but non-intuitive planning technique...

Who controls "You" when you die?

Posted on August 30, 2010
Lots has been written about who controls your "money and stuff" when you die, but who gets to make decisions about "You"? Who gets to say what your funeral service looks like, whether there'll be a burial or cremation, where your ashes might be scattered, or cryogenics or other alternatives? Your might be shaking your head about the need to ask such a question, but I was just told a story that falls squarely within this question...

Caregiver Agreements can and do work

Posted on August 25, 2010
I came across an article "Protecting Your Future: Caregiver agreement protects assets" that reminded me how a simple, but effective, caregiver agreement can compensate a child who is assisting a parent, and perhaps lead to future family harmony...

The Unintended Consequences of Marriage from a Healthcare Perspective

Posted on August 23, 2010
Beware of Second Marriage Nuptials even with a Prenuptial Agreement - Courtesy of guest blogger Steven A. Loeb, Esq. Marriage is defined as [a]n act of marrying or the rite by which the married status is effected; especially the wedding ceremony and attendant festivities or formalities; or an intimate or close union ("marriage...

Can your parent be a Dependent and you get a Deduction?

Posted on August 18, 2010
Clearly your parents can be dependent on you (an issue beyond the scope of any article) , but can you claim them as dependents and get a tax deduction? The answer - maybe (a lawyers stock in trade). There is a 5 (possibly 6) step test if you can claim a parent as a dependent and get a tax deduction...

Buying or Selling a Veterinary Practice

Posted on August 16, 2010
We are privileged to represent many successful veterinary practices in New Jersey. When I was little I wanted to grow up to be a veterinarian, but found I was better suited to law. One of the joys of being an attorney is that you have an opportunity to learn how other businesses operate and help them to be successful...

Meet our Toms River NJ Attorney Team

Posted on August 16, 2010
We recently opened our Toms River office to service the needs of our existing clients who had moved to Ocean County as well as to offer services to new clients who wanted a local law firm with a large pool of talented attorneys. Our Ocean County and Monmouth County clients now have a convenient office to discuss estate planning, elder law, probate and real estate issues with attorneys who focus in those areas of law...

Who gets your stuff when you die? Personal property dispositions

Posted on August 12, 2010
Courtesy of guest blogger Stacey C. Maiden, Esq. I note as an aside that the question of who get what personal property (jewelery, artwork, china, family photographs, furniture) can often be the biggest source of tension when administering an estate, even if the monetary value is only a fraction of the overall estate...

Playing the State Income Tax Game

Posted on August 10, 2010
Why did LeBron James cross to the Miami Heat? Because his tax adviser said so of course! At least, that is what is posited in a very interesting article "Play The State Income Tax Strategies Game Like LeBron James" by Trace Mayer at Citizen Economists...

101 Tax Policy Blogs

Posted on August 09, 2010
Mark Macaluso of Masters in Accounting - Guide to Online Masters in Accounting Degrees has prepared a comprehensive guide to 101 Top Tax Policy Blogs. He looks at know and newer site for those interested in stepping back from rhetoric and looking at how tax policy is shaped by politics and economics and how society is shaped by tax policy: What's better for the economy? What's better for the general welfare? What's more important, financial security for all or individual freedom? How do the government's tax policies affect us as individual taxpayers and as business owners? These questions are all addressed in this list of the top 101 tax policy blogs...

Congratulations to Randolph's New Mayor Trina Ruane Mitsch

Posted on August 06, 2010
A wholehearted congratulations to my friend Trina Ruane Mitsch on being named Mayor of Randolph last week. I admire Trina for balancing not only a successful career as a financial planner with the roles of mom, wife and family member, but also for volunteering her time to help govern our town...

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