Overview
Inherited Retirement Plan Benefits –Possible Minimum Distribution Rule Changes
Committee Update - Uniform Trust Code in Minnesota
Portability
Proposals for Fiscal Year 2012 Federal Legislation
Drafting for Qualified Small Business and Farming Deduction
Planning for Income Tax Basis Step Up In The Bypass Trust
Inherited retirement plans –
minimum distributions
Proposal by Sen. Max Baucus of the Senate
Finance Committee
5 year rule is the general rule for all
distributions after death for all plans and all
IRA’s.
Exceptions for the following beneficiaries:
spouse, disabled and “chronically ill
persons”, persons less than 10 years younger
than the deceased person, minor children of the
deceased plan participant.
Effective date proposed: death’s occurring after
2012.
Inherited retirement plans –
minimum distributions
Planning Considerations:
Roth Conversions
Funding of Bypass Trusts
Conduit Trusts
Accumulation Trusts
Charitable Remainder Trusts
Uniform Trust Code
Committee
Decanting
Trust Protectors
Required Notices to Beneficiaries
Spendthrift Provisions
HEMS powers
Lapsed Crummey Powers
Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLAT Trusts)
Portability: Requirements
Surviving spouse can use deceased spouse’s
unused unified credit for gift and estate tax
purposes (NOT GST)
deceased spousal unused exclusion amount
(DSUEA)
1st Spouse dies in 2011 or later
2nd Spouse dies before 2013
Not allowed for noncitizen and nonresident
alien spouses.
Basic Example
H dies in 2011 with a $3 million estate which
passes to his children
W’s exclusion becomes $7 million
$5 million from her own exemption
$2 million from her husband’s unused unified
credit
Electing Portability
Elected: file timely and complete Form 706
Statute of Limitations
Cannot increase tax due for predeceased spouse
Service can review predeceased spouse’s return
anytime for purposes of determining DSUEA
Electing out
Following instructions on Form 706
Do not file Form 706
Multiple Spouses
Can only claim DSUEA of last deceased
spouse
H1 and W married. H1 dies. H2 and W married.
H2 dies.
W has DSUEA from H2 IF H2 made election.
Multiple Spouse: Divorce
Divorce revives DSUEA of first deceased
spouse
H1 and W married. H1 dies. H2 and W married.
H2 and W divorce. H2 dies.
W has DSUEA from H1
Recapture with Reduced
Exemption?
Exemption is $5M
H1 dies with $2M estate
W receives $3M in DSUEA
Exemption is reduced to $1M
W dies
Does W have exemption of $2M or $4M?
$2M: Section 2010(c)(4)(A) limits DSUEA to the
basic exclusion amount
Recapture with Gifts?
W gets $5M DSUEA from H1.
W makes $10M in gifts
W remarries H2
H2 dies leaving W with $0 DESUEA
W has no assets at death
W’s taxable estate of $5M ($10M lifetime gifts -$5M exemption)
Result: will create estate tax that exceeds decedent’s estate (who pays the tax?)
Advantages of Credit Shelter
Trusts
Asset protection during surviving spouse’s life
Can protect children’s inheritance
Shelter appreciation and income from estate
tax, DSUEA not indexed for inflation
Preservation of predeceased spouse’s
exemption if exemption is reduced
Minnesota’s estate tax has no portability
Advantages of Credit Shelter
Trust
Use of predeceased spouse’s GST Exemption
Avoid filing estate tax return if estate is not so
large
Portability lost if surviving spouse remarries
and outlives second spouse
Less risk of audit at second death if trust is
funded with non-publicly traded assets that are
difficult to value
Portability may sunset in 2013
Advantages of Portability
Simplicity (no segregation of assets)
Property depreciates after first spouse’s death
(like retirement assets)
Second step-up in basis for appreciated
assets
Acts as back up if couple fails to fully
implement asset retitling
Predictions
No significant modifications of estate plans currently needed
Gift planning using DSUEA
Could have direction in estate plans to file a Form 706
Wealthy spouses should treat DSUEA like basic exclusion and use as soon as possible so assets begin appreciating outside of estate
Premarital agreements
Require surviving spouse’s estate to file an estate tax return and elect portability.
Administration’s Fiscal Year 2012
Budget Proposals
Federal Exemptions:
3.5 Million Estate and GST Tax Exemptions
45% top tax rate
2013 proposal would limit gift tax exemption to
$1 Million
Continuing Portability: potentially costing
$3.681 billion over the next 10 years
Administration’s Fiscal Year 2012
Budget Proposals
Consistency in Value for Transfer Tax and
Income Tax Purposes:
New subsections 1014(f)(1) & 1015(f)(1)
New Section 6035 Basis Information Sheet
Could add authorization for Treasury to issue
regulations requiring reporting basis even where
Forms 706 and 709 are not required
Could raise $2.095 billion in revenue over 10
years
Administration’s Fiscal Year 2012
Budget Proposals
Grantor Retained Annuity Trust regulations
10 year minimum terms
Remainder interest (the gift) must have value >
0
Annuity amounts not to decrease in any year of
the annuity term
Could raise $2.959 billion in revenue over 10
years
Administration’s Fiscal Year 2012
Budget Proposals
Limiting GST dynasty trusts to 90 years tax
free
The GST inclusion ratio is increased to 1 on the
90th anniversary of the date of the trust’s
creation
Would impact trusts created after the date of
enactment plus the portion of pre-existing trusts
with contributions after the date of enactment
Administration’s Fiscal Year 2012
Budget Proposals
Valuation Discount Modifications
Attacking discounts primarily related to family
transactions, potentially including minority and
marketability discounts
Could raise $18.166 billion in revenue over 10
years
Administration’s Fiscal Year 2013
Budget Proposal
Grantor Trust Coordination of Income and
Transfer Tax Rules
To the extent that income tax rules treat a grantor as
the owner of the trust, the proposal:
1. Includes the assets of the trust in the gross
estate of the grantor for estate tax purposes;
2. Subjects distributions from the trust to gift tax
during the grantor’s life; and
3. Subjects remaining assets to gift tax during the
grantor’s life if the grantor ceases to be an
owner.
Drafting for Qualified Small Business
and Farming Deduction – MS 291.03
Statutory Requirements – For A Deduction Of Up To $4 Million
Death after 6/30/2011
Decedent must own “Qualified Property”:Qualified Small Business Property or
Qualified Farm Property
The Qualified Property must pass to a Qualified Heir The statute does not address whether the ownership
interest by the deceased person or his/her family members can be in a trust and if so, which beneficiaries of the trust (current, future, contingent, all of the above) must be qualified heirs.
Drafting for Qualified Small Business and
Farming Deduction – MS 291.03
Definition of a Qualified Small Business
The value of the property was included in the
federal adjusted taxable estate.
There is no minimum percentage of the estate that
must be comprised of the Qualified Small Business
(i.e. no 25% or 50% test as is the case for IRC Section
2032A)
The reference to the adjusted taxable estate prevents
the deduction from applying in the case of property
qualifying for the estate tax marital deduction.
Drafting for Qualified Small Business
and Farming Deduction – MS 291.03
Definition of a Qualified Small Business
The property consists of the assets of a trade or
business or shares of stock or other ownership
interests in a corporation or other entity engaged
in a trade or business.
There is no requirement that the qualified small
business property be real estate.
Equipment, inventory and other personal property
would appear to qualify.
There is no requirement that the qualified small
business be located in Minnesota.
Drafting for Qualified Small Business
and Farming Deduction – MS 291.03
Definition of a Qualified Small Business
The decedent or the decedent's spouse must
have materially participated in the trade or
business within the meaning of section 469 of the
Internal Revenue Code during the taxable year
that ended before the date of the decedent's
death.
See Treasury Regulation 1.469-5T. Material
participation requires satisfaction of one of 7 tests.
The test which is most likely to apply requires the
decedent or spouse to have participated in the activity
for more than 500 hours during the taxable year.
Drafting for Qualified Small Business
and Farming Deduction – MS 291.03
This is a stricter test than the material
participation test under IRC Section
2032A, which adopts the IRC Section 1402
standard for determining if an activity is
sufficiently active to be subject to tax as net
earnings for self-employment.
There is no provision which permits the
satisfaction of the material participation
requirement for a retired or disabled individual.
Drafting for Qualified Small Business
and Farming Deduction – MS 291.03
Shares of stock in a corporation or an ownership interest in another type of entity do not qualify under this subdivision if the shares or ownership interests are traded on a public stock exchange at any time during the three-year period ending on the decedent's date of death.
The gross annual sales of the trade or business were $10,000,000 or less for the last taxable year that ended before the date of the death of the decedent.
The property does not consist of cash or cash equivalents. For property consisting of shares of stock or other ownership interests in an entity, the amount of cash or cash equivalents held by the corporation or other entity must be deducted from the value of the property qualifying under this subdivision in proportion to the decedent's share of ownership of the entity on the date of death.
Drafting for Qualified Small Business
and Farming Deduction – MS 291.03
The decedent continuously owned the property for the three-year period ending on the date of death of the decedent.
A family member “continuously uses” the property in the operation of the trade or business for three years following the date of death of the decedent. What is the standard for the measurement of continuous
use?
Unlike IRC Section 2032A, this seems to require that the family member who inherits the property must be the same family member who continuously uses it.
The estate and the qualified heir elect to treat the property as qualified small business property and agree, in the form prescribed by the Commissioner, to pay the recapture tax under subdivision 11, if applicable.
Drafting for Qualified Small Business
and Farming Deduction – MS 291.03
The value of the property was included in the federal adjusted taxable estate.
The property consists of: consists of a farm meeting the requirements of section 500.24.
Note: this is the corporate farming statute which in turn regulates the ownership of trusts owning farm land. The statute excludes timber and poultry operations, and by ruling, the commissioner has exclude land in the CRP program,
was classified for property tax purposes as the homestead of the decedent or the decedent's spouse or both under section 273.124, and
was classified as class 2a property under section 273.13, subdivision 23 [relating to vacant contiguous land].
The definition requires that the qualified property must consist of agricultural land, the farm home and farm buildings. Grain, livestock and equipment and other farm related personal property do not qualify.
Drafting for Qualified Small Business
and Farming Deduction – MS 291.03
The decedent continuously owned the property for the three-year period ending on the date of death of the decedent. There does not appear to be any material participation
requirement during the period before the decedent’s death.
A family member continuously uses the property in the operation of the trade or business for three years following the date of death of the decedent.
The estate and the qualified heir elect to treat the property as qualified farm property and agree, in a form prescribed by the commissioner, to pay the recapture tax under subdivision 11, if applicable.
Recapture Tax
The amount of the additional tax equals the
amount of the exclusion claimed by the estate
under subdivision 8, paragraph (d), multiplied
by 16 percent.
The additional tax under this subdivision is due
on the day which is six months after the date
of the disposition or cessation of the qualifying
use.
Recapture Tax
If, within three years after the decedent's death
and before the death of the qualified heir, the
qualified heir disposes of any interest in the
qualified property, other than by a disposition
to a family member, or a family member
ceases to use the qualified property which was
acquired or passed from the decedent, an
additional estate tax is imposed on the
property.
Drafting Considerations With Respect To
The Qualified Interest Deduction
In the case of married clients, consider potential decrease of Federal exemption to $1 Million on 1/1/2013.
Directing qualified interest to a share that does not qualify for the marital deduction may trigger an unexpected federal estate tax on the first spouse’s death. A gift to the marital share does not qualify for the qualified interest deduction.
Note: if IRC Section 2032A planning is being considered for a married couple, a lead pecuniary marital formula is often selected under which the Section 2032A property is often passed under the marital share so that the valuation reduction may be achieved in both spouse’s estates.
A formula gift could be employed which requires that the transfer occur only to the extent that no federal estate tax is triggered.
Drafting Considerations With Respect To
The Qualified Interest Deduction
Review the tax payment provision. Generally, the tax, including the recapture tax, should be apportioned to the qualified heirs receiving the qualified property.
Consider alternatives to trust ownership by the property owner and the qualified heir until further guidance is received. To avoid probate, consider the use of TOD deeds for real estate, and TOD certification for partnership interests, LLC interests and corporate shares.
Drafting Considerations With Respect To
The Qualified Interest Deduction
Consider requiring each heir who receives an
interest in the qualified property, other than a
surviving spouse, upon the request of the
personal representative, to:
sign the election and recapture agreement
(including any protective elections) before the due
date of the return, as a condition to receiving their
inheritance of the qualified property, and
such signing should also be required with respect
to any further matters required to perfect the
election.
Drafting Considerations With Respect To
The Qualified Interest Deduction
If the qualified property will be transferred into
a trust, consider a provision which requires the
personal representative and trustee to
designate a qualified heir to manage such
property to secure qualification for the
deduction. The fiduciary should be exonerated
from liability for such delegation.
Permit an independent trustee or trust
protector to amend the trust to the extent
necessary to permit qualification for the
deduction.
Planning for Income Tax Basis
Step Up In Bypass Trust
Income tax basis step up at death under IRC
Section 1014.
Directing the independent trustee to consider
IRC Section 1014.
Creation and elimination of general powers by
independent trustees.
Problems with formula general powers.
Planning for Income Tax Basis
Step Up In Bypass Trust
Solution: The Delaware Tax Trap
Section 2041(a)(3) provides that an exercise by a
beneficiary of a limited power of appointment will
be taxed as if it were a general power of
appointment if the exercise of the power is to a
further trust which “postpone(s) the vesting of any
… interest in such property, or suspends the
absolute ownership or power of alienation of such
property, for a period ascertainable without regard
to the date of the creation of the first power.”
Planning for Income Tax Basis
Step Up In The Bypass Trust
Technique to exercise a power of appointment which transfers property in further trust in a manner which postpones the vesting of an interest in trust:
Problem: the law of most states – including the Minnesota version of the Uniform Statutory Rule Against Perpetuities (USRAP) – generally prohibits an exercise in further trust with a new measuring period.
Solution – Minnesota and all other states with rules against perpetuities permit a transfer in a further trust in which the beneficiary of the appointed trust has a presently exercisable general power of appointment.
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