The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) does not require you to declare your gifts or inheritances that you received during the tax year on your Federal income tax returns unless you fall within a few exceptions. In most cases, as the recipient of a gift or inheritance, you do not have to pay income taxes on those gifts. Instead, the donor of the gift pays income taxes if his gift exceeds the annual threshold. For the 2011 tax year, the annual gift limit is $13,000 per recipient. Thus, a donor does … [Read more...] about The IRS and Foreign Gifts
Estranged Father of Texan Inmate Posthumously Exonerated Stakes a Claim to Large Inheritance
In 2010, Texas made news headlines for making its first posthumous exoneration of an inmate wrongfully imprisoned. In 1985, Tim Cole was convicted of raping a fellow classmate at Texas Tech University while he was attending as an Army veteran. Cole maintained his innocence for the next 14 years. In 1999, he died in prison from asthma complications at the young age of 39. In 2008, a DNA test cleared Cole of the 1985 rape. Two years later, Texas Governor Rick Perry posthumously officially … [Read more...] about Estranged Father of Texan Inmate Posthumously Exonerated Stakes a Claim to Large Inheritance
Make 2012 A Gift Giving Year
Accountants and tax attorneys know some of the best ways to reduce your tax liabilities while you are still living. However, estate planning attorneys may help you simultaneously reduce your tax liabilities while you are still living and after your death. According to the federal Internal Revenue Code, the Internal Revenue Service allows you to make gifts of up to $13,000 without having you pay taxes on those gifts. Furthermore, your recipients will not have to pay federal income taxes on the … [Read more...] about Make 2012 A Gift Giving Year
Does a Power of Attorney Get Paid?
A power of attorney is a legal document that creates a special kind of relationship between you and someone else, called a principal-agent relationship. Through your power of attorney you grant someone—your agent—specific legal authorities to act on your behalf. This person's role can be as limited or as broad as you decide, but you should always carefully consider the issue of payment before you choose to appoint an agent, also known as an attorney-in-fact. There is no legal requirement that … [Read more...] about Does a Power of Attorney Get Paid?
Divorce and Estate Planning for Texans: Part 3 of 3
Another important consideration with life insurance beneficiary designations concerns spouses are not required to carry life insurance policies as part of their divorce settlement agreements but fail to substitute beneficiaries. For example, imagine Husband and Wife divorce in 2010. Following the divorce, Husband forgets to name a different beneficiary in his life insurance policy. Under Texas law, if Husband forgets to change his life insurance beneficiary designation, his former wife probably … [Read more...] about Divorce and Estate Planning for Texans: Part 3 of 3
Divorce and Estate Planning for Texans: Part 2 of 3
In Texas, divorcing couples should consider how their divorce settlement agreements may affect their future estate planning rights. Family laws and probate laws overlap in many situations. In Texas, a surviving spouse has a right to certain community property and non-community property, including a homestead right to a life estate. If a divorce property settlement agreement contemplates otherwise, does a former spouse with a life estate right still have the legal right to live in the former … [Read more...] about Divorce and Estate Planning for Texans: Part 2 of 3
Divorce and Estate Planning for Texans: Part 1 of 3
Another important consideration with life insurance beneficiary designations concerns spouses who are not required to carry life insurance policies as part of their divorce settlement agreements but fail to substitute beneficiaries. For example, imagine husband and wife divorce in 2010. Following the divorce, husband forgets to name a different beneficiary in his life insurance policy. Under Texas law, if Husband forgets to change his life insurance beneficiary designation, his former wife … [Read more...] about Divorce and Estate Planning for Texans: Part 1 of 3
Community Property and Estate Planning in Texas: Part 3 of 3
You should speak with a property or an estate planning attorney to help you understand your legal rights and to make sure your written agreement complies with the state’s statutory requirements. It is generally insufficient to create a deed that states your intent to hold property with your spouse with a right of survivorship. Instead, your attorney will most likely draft a separate agreement stating such and file it in the appropriate county clerk or recorder’s office. You should also be aware … [Read more...] about Community Property and Estate Planning in Texas: Part 3 of 3
Community Property and Estate Planning in Texas: Part 2 of 3
Marital property ownership rights are important for estate planning purposes. In most community property states, communal owners each own half of their property and as such, they may freely dispose of their rights as they wish while they are alive or at death. At one spouse’s death, a community property owner may not have an automatic right of survivorship to the remaining property. However, in Texas, the Texas Legislature recognized the need for flexibility for planning purposes between … [Read more...] about Community Property and Estate Planning in Texas: Part 2 of 3
Community Property and Estate Planning in Texas: Part 1 of 3
Typically, unless you are going through or have gone through a divorce, you probably haven’t given much thought to the term “community property” or “equitable property.” If you are thinking about estate planning, you should understand what “community property” and “equitable property” really mean. Most states follow the common law regime of equitable property during divorce and for estate planning purposes. However, like a handful of other states, Texas is a minority community property … [Read more...] about Community Property and Estate Planning in Texas: Part 1 of 3
