More and more Americans are faced with the prospect of outliving their resources and rely on Medicaid to bridge the gap between expensive long-term health care and dwindling personal assets. Eligibility for Medicaid assistance, however, requires that an applicant's...
PLDO Law Blog
Trust & Estate Law
Trust Beneficiary Lacks Standing to Sue for Breach of Contract Calling for Trust to be Funded
On April 20, 2017, the Supreme Court issued a decision in Glassie v. Doucette, No. 2014-108-Appeal (R.I. 2017), holding that a Trust beneficiary lacked standing to sue as a third party intended beneficiary of a contract which called for the creation and funding of the...
Proposed 2704 Regulations May Have Substantial Impact on Estate Planning
Proposed 2704 Regulations, as they are now drafted, would make vast and substantial changes to the valuation of interests in many family-controlled entities, such as a Family Limited Partnership (FLP) or Limited Liability Company (LLC), for purposes of estate, gift,...
Be Wary of Tax Laws Concerning IRAs
This past June, the IRS issued a Private Letter Ruling (201623001) which impacts surviving spouses in community property states. The decedent and the surviving spouse were married in 2004 and lived in a community property state. They had a son, whom the decedent named...
ONE RISK YOU SHOULDN’T TAKE IS NOT HAVING THE RIGHT LIFE INSURANCE
If you never return from your sailing trip around the globe or reemerge from the deep ocean depths on the submarine destined for the Titanic, will your family receive the death benefit proceeds from your life insurance policy? That answer, as well as the answer to...
HOW TO BUY ULTRA-DANGEROUS ASSETS
It’s never a good idea to buy an asset, like a boat or plane, in your own name or to have multiple parties on the title. First of all, when your name is on the title, you are personally liable for any damage that the asset may cause. For example, you and Joe own a...
SO, YOU WANT TO WRESTLE AN ALLIGATOR?
Before base jumping into the miasma of risk, the first thing you should do is make sure your estate plan, in its current iteration, meets your needs and has adapted to any challenging or changing family situation. A well-rounded estate plan is literally more of a life...
HOW LIFE INSURANCE PROCEEDS COULD AFFECT A COMPANY’S VALUATION FOR ESTATE TAX PURPOSES
A recent case brought to light the impact that a stock-purchase agreement and life insurance proceeds may – or may not - have on the valuation of a closely held company for estate tax purposes. In this case that caused a split between the 8th and 11th Circuits, the...
HASTE MAKES WASTE . . . CASH THE CHECK.
One never knows what corner the grim reaper lies behind. A final illness can often accelerate quickly and deprive a donor of adequate time to complete gifts for tax purposes that he intended to make. In a recent federal court case, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals...