The 1988 film Rain Man was directed by Barry Levinson and is cited by many people as a favorite film. Rain Man tells the story of Charles Babbitt (Tom Cruise) who finds out that his estranged father has passed away and left all of his large estate and its associated…
In a recent opinion, a Minnesota Appellate Court rejected a petition to revise a trust’s terms to permit the early distribution of trust assets to beneficiaries. The court also rejected a request by the petition for the trust to pay attorney’s fees and held that the litigation was neither necessary…
In the recent case of Riverside County Public Guardian v. Snukst, a California appellate Court resolved an issue involving the Medi-Cal program, which is California’s version of the federal Medicaid program. The program is overseen by the California Department of Health Services. In Riverside, the Department of Health Services pursued…
In the recent case, Heiting v. the United States, an appellate court denied a claim-of-right deduction in accordance with Section 1341 of the Internal Revenue Code. The case originated from an effort by a taxpayer to receive a tax refund from the Internal Revenue Service. Following a denial of the…
While some people anticipated otherwise, 2022 started without any new federal regulation or tax changes addressing estate planning. As proposed legislation passed through the legislative process in 2021, major potential changes to federal estate and gift tax were dropped. These potential changes included a decrease in the estate and gift…
Each year, it’s important for anyone interested in planning for the future of their assets to either create or revise their estate plan. Taking the time and including loved ones in estate planning discussions is the best thing that you can do to avoid conflict or estate planning disagreements. Estate…
TV shows often depict unpleasant estate planning situations that can arise including a deceased person leaving assets to a former spouse. While these situations often do not occur in the way depicted on TV or film including the recent Netflix film I Care A Lot, a former spouse could end…
As we begin our way through 2022, understanding various federal tax issues can help make the most of your estate planning this year. Because the federal legislature might pass regulations that alter these laws sometime during 2022, it’s important to understand critical federal tax laws you might want to utilize…
In times of economic uncertainty, estate plans can benefit substantially from flexibility. As the country both continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic as well as face the challenges brought on by new strains of COVID-19, it’s a good idea to consider how to make your estate plan flexible. Not…
The Status of Estate and Gift Taxes in 2022 In 2021, Congress, as well as the Executive branch, proposed revisions to the tax code that if passed would have substantially changed estate planning. If these changes had been made, some proposals would have been put on the side, while the…