A judge in Australia ruled that a 75-year-old man had died without a will after the names of his beneficiaries were obscured by black ink on the document, according to a recent court filing.
Revenue Procedure 2022-32 (2022-30 IRB 101) became effective on July 8, 2022. This guidance issued by the IRS allows certain taxpayers an extended amount of time (five years) to make a ‘portability election’ regarding estate and gift taxes.
The distribution of wealth among beneficiaries through your final will and testament is often a complex and sensitive issue, one that can potentially spark conflicts and legal challenges among family members.
We have a situation where both of my in-laws passed away in the last several years. My wife was the daughter and she and her brother are the executors to the last of my in-laws to pass away.
Before the original SECURE Act, IRA owners who died were able to leave their accounts to their children, grandkids, or other non-spouse individual beneficiaries, and heirs could stretch required minimum distributions (RMDs) over their own lifetimes, thus allowing the funds in the accounts to grow tax-free for decades.
Wills and trusts, instead of designating a specific person to inherit, often name a group or class of people such as your ‘children,’ ‘issue’ or your ‘descendants.’
While life insurance is typically not taxable, there are some notable exceptions that could play a role and are important to consider regarding any life insurance policy and benefit.
