A Trust can Qualify for a Section 121 Deduction (For Sale of a Personal Residence)
Typically, people take it for granted that there will not be any tax when they sell their personal residence. Technically, there is a tax, but the government also offers a limited exclusion under Section 121 of the Internal Revenue Code. For individuals who sell their primary residence, you can exclude the first $250,000 of gain. […]
Setting up Trusts for High Maintenance Children
I was talking with a colleague the other day regarding a trust that he manages for a rather difficult benefiary. The trust is rather small in terms of overall dollars, but he advised me that it consumes a great deal of his time because the beneficiary calls hundreds of times a year – begging for […]
New Jersey Estate Tax
New Jersey has many different types of taxes, including two different taxes on death: the NJ Estate Tax and the NJ inheritance tax. The New Jersey estate tax is a tax on transfers at death and certain transfers in contemplation of death. Transfers to charities, a surviving spouse or a surviving Civil Union partner are exempt […]
Estate and Trust Litigation
Unfortunately I have been given another reminder of how important it is to select appropriate executors for your Will, trustees for your trusts and agents in your financial powers of attorney. No matter how good an attorney does in drafting your estate planning documents, if there is a person in charge of the money who […]
Estate tax liability for Non-Citizen Non-Residents of America
In this real estate market, some foreign investors may be tempted to buy property in the United States on the cheap. Overall, this may be a good idea, but I wish to caution you about one potential tax trap: When a person who owns property in America dies, and that person is not a citizen […]