News & Analysis as of

Surviving Spouse Beneficiaries

Husch Blackwell LLP

Planning for Retirement Benefits Post-Secure Act

Husch Blackwell LLP on

On July 18, 2024, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued final regulations updating the required minimum distribution (RMD) rules. The final regulations reflect changes made by the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement...more

Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig PLLC

Dying In Maryland Without A Will? The New Intestacy Law In Maryland Leaves Surviving Children And Parents To Fend For Themselves

Dying without a valid will in place is never a good idea. In the absence of your testamentary intent your assets are left to the whims of the current intestacy laws of the state in which you reside. In Maryland, those laws...more

Bowditch & Dewey

Key Estate Planning Adjustments to Make After Your Spouse Passes Away

Bowditch & Dewey on

The period after a spouse passes away is an emotional time of mourning. However, there are a handful of estate planning adjustments that you should make to protect your estate under the new conditions....more

Allen Barron, Inc.

What is Known as the IRS Survivor’s Penalty?

Allen Barron, Inc. on

What is known as the IRS survivor’s penalty, and is there anything that can be done to provide for a surviving spouse as we age? The “survivor’s penalty” is the likelihood that a surviving spouse will face higher federal and...more

Bowditch & Dewey

What Happens if I Die Without a Valid Will in Massachusetts?

Bowditch & Dewey on

As estate planning attorneys, a question that often arises with new and prospective clients is, “What happens if I die without a will?” The short answer is this: if you die without a valid will in Massachusetts, state law...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

The Intersection of Family Law, Estate Law and Federal Law

Fox Rothschild LLP on

On November 14, 2023, the Appellate Division decided an interesting case that implicated the intersection of family law, estate law and federal law. The reported (precedential) decision In the Matter of the Estate of Michael...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Divorce Ambivalence Can Come at a Hefty Price

Fox Rothschild LLP on

When I first read the precedential ruling of the Pennsylvania Superior Court in Shell v. Shell, I really didn’t find it noteworthy enough to write about. This is a case where a spouse discovered that her husband was moving...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Senator Feinstein Alleges that the Trust Meant to Protect Her Has Become “Untrustworthy.”

Fox Rothschild LLP on

Back on July 26 we wrote about how trusts have become a new territory within the divorce landscape. At the time the press was just starting to write about California Senator Diane Feinstein’s troubles with the trust her...more

Winstead PC

Court Affirmed Temporary Injunction Precluding A Surviving Spouse From Acting As Trustee Of A Trust

Winstead PC on

In Kirkland v. Kirkland, a husband and wife created a revocable trust. No. 02-22-00469-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 3598 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth May 25, 2023, no pet. history)....more

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

Estate Planning Update: Recent IRS Ruling Offers a Stark Reminder of the Benefits of Proper Estate Planning for Retirement...

Despite ultimately finding in favor of a taxpayer surviving spouse, IRS Private Letter Ruling 2023-22-014 (the “PLR”) is chock-full of reasons to ensure proper planning is in place when it comes to IRAs....more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Divorcing the Wealthy is Often a Matter of “Trusts”

Fox Rothschild LLP on

I received a call recently from a colleague looking to refer a client for a divorce. Our firm had done estate planning for the client and spouse, thus we were not eligible to represent either party in a marital break up as...more

Warner Norcross + Judd

May the Surviving Co-grantor of a Joint Trust Amend or Revoke the Trust After the Death of the First Grantor?

Warner Norcross + Judd on

It is not uncommon for a husband and wife in a second marriage situation to create a joint trust, naming all their respective children from their prior marriages as the equal remainder beneficiaries. If the surviving spouse,...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Don’t Let Your Dead Body Become “A Loose Ball.”

Fox Rothschild LLP on

Forgive the title but this is written amidst the Eagles-Vikings game and on the same date as Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. Commentators noted that the Queen’s final event was more than a generation in the planning and was...more

Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP

The Estate Planner, September/October 2022

Estate planning for the happily married - Hedge your bets with a SLAT One of the biggest challenges of estate planning is dealing with uncertainty. For 2022, for example, the federal gift and estate tax exemption is $12.06...more

Adler Pollock & Sheehan P.C.

QTIP Trust: Strange Name, Powerful Trust

Granted, a QTIP trust is an odd sounding name for an estate planning technique. Nevertheless, it can be a valuable strategy, especially if you’re currently in a second marriage. The QTIP moniker is an acronym for the...more

Winstead PC

Court Affirmed Order Denying A Family Allowance

Winstead PC on

In In re Estate of Wetzel, a widow and independent administrator of her husband’s estate appealed a trial court’s order denying her requested family allowance. No. 05-20-01104-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 2618 (Tex. App.—Dallas...more

Downey Brand LLP

See No Evil? Premarital Agreement May Cause Spouse to Lose Inheritance and Role as Administrator of Estate

Downey Brand LLP on

We write today about probate law, premarital agreements and the importance of doing your homework. In Estate of Eskra (2022) ___ Cal.App.5th.____, the First District Court of Appeal upheld a Humboldt County Superior Court...more

Burns & Levinson LLP

How Appointing a Power of Attorney Can Benefit Your Life

Burns & Levinson LLP on

In general, estate planning benefits not only the principal’s life, but also the lives of their family members and agents. Prior planning includes wills, trusts, health care proxies, advanced health care directives and...more

Downey Brand LLP

Unilateral Severance of Joint Tenancy Must Be Unequivocal and Irrevocable

Downey Brand LLP on

Can a California will sever a joint tenancy such that the decedent’s interest in real property passes per will’s terms instead of vesting in the surviving joint tenant(s)? Additionally, when a general partnership dissolves...more

Winstead PC

Court Holds That Trust Owned Mineral Interests And Not The Settlor’s Wife

Winstead PC on

In Moore v. Estate of Moore, a decedent’s wife claimed that she had an interest in an oil and gas lease formerly owned by her deceased husband. No. 07-20-00019-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 6142 (Tex. App.—Amarillo July 30, 2021,...more

Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C.

Can a Marriage Be Annulled After One Spouse’s Death?

Marriage is supposed to be “until death do us part,” but after one spouse dies, is it possible for a court to declare a marriage invalid (annulled)? It can happen, as a Nebraska widower recently learned, but only in certain...more

Ward and Smith, P.A.

Preventing Trust and Estate Disputes

Ward and Smith, P.A. on

The death of a loved one should be a time for a family to come together.  As a trust and estate litigator, unfortunately, I often see families fall apart.  Every family's situation is different, but certain issues seem to...more

Downey Brand LLP

Immortal Right — Income Beneficiary’s Entitlement to Accounting Continues after Death

Downey Brand LLP on

Many California trusts confer a lifetime right to income on a person (often the surviving spouse) with the remainder passing to designated survivors upon the income beneficiary’s death. When the income beneficiary dies, is it...more

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

The Year-End: A Time For Ignoring The Holidays And Disclaiming Gifts (For Tax Purposes)

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

Happy Holidays? Bah Humbug! The “holiday season” is once again upon us. A time to spend with family and friends, a time for gift-giving (and re-gifting), for songs and for story-telling, and a time for remembering those...more

Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP

Law Brief: Alexis Gruttadauria and Rich Schoenstein Discuss Why You Need an Estate Plan

Trusts and Estates Attorney Alexis Gruttadauria joins host and Litigation Partner Rich Schoenstein to discuss “Why You Need an Estate Plan” on the latest episode of Law Brief. Lexi and Rich delve into the legal disposition of...more

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