Matthew Curtiss, Esq

NY Post: Leona kin $crew the pooch

More than 30 animal-rescue groups have written letters to the judge presiding over the administration of the late Queen of Mean's fortune, asking that she help carry out Helmsley's request that her money go to the dogs.

Helmsley died in 2007, leaving the majority of her $8 billion fortune to a charitable trust to be administered by close friends and relatives for "purposes related to the provision of care for dogs."

But when the trust started doling out her cash earlier this year, only $1 million of the first $136 million in grants went to canine causes.

via www.nypost.com

OK, so it's not as flashy as "Headless Body Found in Topless Bar".

Thanks to Attorney Matthew Berger for the heads up.

State Death Taxes Are the Latest Worry - WSJ.com

With the federal estate tax disappearing for most people, state death taxes have emerged as a surprise new worry.

This year, the federal exemption rose to $3.5 million per individual, or as much as $7 million per married couple. At the current level, only 5,500 estates a year are federally taxable.

That is down from the 17,500 estates that would have faced death taxes under the previous $2 million limit, the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center estimates.

The problem is that most states with estate or inheritance taxes haven't raised exemptions to match the federal limits. That means thousands of taxpayers who now escape the federal levy could still get hit with a state death tax.

via online.wsj.com

As the Wall Street Journal points out, the Feds don't talk with the States regarding estate tax exemptions and vice versa. States are usually left to play catch-up once the federal estate tax changes are made. The last few years have been relatively quiet; though many practitioners have been awaiting some resolution regarding the Connecticut "cliff tax" which will be going away on January 1, 2010. As of that date, if an estate is valued over the Connecticut exemption, the estate no longer get taxed all the way back to "$1 and above" but only on the amount over the exemption.

As of 2010, Connecticut should be in better shape in terms of the differences between its estate taxes and the Federal estate taxes.

Will the Estate Tax Disappear? - WSJ.com

Many people hope the federal estate tax will disappear next year, as scheduled. They could be sorry if it does.

Back in 2000, Congress enacted a gradual loosening of the estate exemption. It has since risen to its current level of $3.5 million per individual, or up to $7 million per couple. The tax is scheduled to lapse just for next year and return in 2011.

Washington insiders are betting lawmakers won't let that happen. Instead they believe Congress is likely to act before the end of this year to extend the current system through next year. And perhaps they should, because getting rid of the estate tax actually would cause problems for most taxpayers.

At issue is the "step-up in cost basis" that all assets receive when an owner dies. The way the law is currently written, if the estate tax goes away, so does the step-up in cost basis. That's where the problem lies.

via online.wsj.com

The step-up in basis is one of the most valuable tools utilized in estate settlement. In most non-taxable estate, setting the basis for properties can be the most important tasks because of the step-up rule.

Presume that husband passes away owning 1,000 shares of Coca-Cola bought in 1960 for $1/share. In 2009, it is worth $80 share. If husband sells the stock prior to his death, he would report capital gains on the $1 purchase price (the basis). If he passes away holding that stock, the basis "steps up" to the date of death value in 2009. The surviving spouse then can sell the stock if necessary using the 2009 basis as a starting point. Much less capital gains, much better result for the heirs.

If the step-up rules go away when the estate tax goes away, surviving spouse has little incentive to sell that stock due to the taxes.

With tangible goods such as antiques, valuations in the estate process (especially in a non-taxable estate)  can be very important (to set the basis) but relatively easy because you are looking at a date-of-death snapshot of that asset.  If no step-up, an antique may need to be valued at purchase date (for basis purposes ) and date-of-death (for inventory purposes). 

Seems like wishing away the estate tax isn't such a black and white issue.

Illinois Supreme Court: Wills can use religious tests -- chicagotribune.com

Though Erla Feinberg's final act might have disappointed most of her grandchildren, it carried out her late husband's dying wish in a way that held up in court.

In a unanimous decision Thursday, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that Max Feinberg and his wife, Erla, could legally disinherit any grandchildren who married outside the Jewish faith as long as the method of doing so did not encourage divorce.

"Although those plans might be offensive to individual family members or to outside observers, Max and Erla were free to distribute their bounty as they saw fit and to favor grandchildren of whose life choices they approved," Justice Rita Garman wrote.

via www.chicagotribune.com

I wonder what the result would be if it were a race-based criteria in the Will rather than religious.

Thanks again to Attorney Matthew Berger for the heads up.

TheDay.com - Be prepared to pay more to fish

As predicted by many area anglers when the saltwater fishing license went into effect, the fees are going up - in surprisingly short order, even for the most skeptical. It hasn't even been a year and already the state wants more money.

Joe Balint at The Fish Connection told me he got a notice from the state that effective October 1st the saltwater license will increase to $20 for residents. A freshwater license will go up to $30 and a combo all-waters license will be $50. Please keep in mind this 2009 license will only be good until the end of the calendar year. A new one will have to be purchased for 2010.

It remains to be seen what benefits residents will get from the license. It was hoped the state might open up new shore access points or perhaps bring back stocks like cod and mackerel, two fish long gone from our waters through mismanagement. Time will tell.

via www.theday.com

Nothing on the CT DEP site, but the site specifically states that licenses are issued on a calendar basis and expire in December of that year. Licenses purchased prior to Oct. 1 should be still effective.

ATM Machine installed at UK Cemetery

The Board has agreed to a test project which has put a cash machine in a tombstone at Chester Jewish Cemetery.

Following the death of Morris Gorski earlier this year, he put in his will a clause that his heirs would only be entitled to get their share of his money by visiting his grave in River Path Road on a weekly basis.

Mr Gorski was a popular businessman who owned a number of businesses including property company Gorski Holdings plc, the UK’s largest builder of three bedroom flats and apartments.

Working with ATM North Europe Services, the cash machine will allow his heirs to collect up to £750 a time when they turn up. A special debit card has been issued to 25 of Mr Gorski’s heirs which they can use at the graveside as well as being able to use elsewhere.

“When Uncle Morris said he was going to do this, we thought he was joking,” said niece Jane Gould. “But when we were read the will, we soon realised he wasn’t. I would visit his grave anyway, but I guess Uncle Morris wanted to make sure that other family members got a worthwhile incentive to visit him.”

According to the Board, should the test project involving Mr Gorski prove popular, other people will get the opportunity to have cash machines in their tombstones.

via www.theboard.org.uk

A bit of old news from 2005 that I came across at an Estate Planning seminar...it was too good not to share.

An ingenious idea, in my opinion, though I wonder if the ATM has been vandalized at all since it was installed.

TheDay.com Fishing Report- Some things are almost sure things

In other news, Allen said casters were catching school bass tight to the rock on the south side of Middle Clump and blues in the rip between the rock and the 21 can. Richard Gilman and his wife Liz caught some nice sea bass on the rocky bottom in 40 feet of water south of Wreck Island. One of the Fishers Island regulars came in to buy five dozen live eels, a sign the bass bite is good after dark on the south side. Black fish season opens in both Connecticut and New York waters on Oct. 1. You are allowed to keep four fish per person per day with a 14-inch minimum.

via www.theday.com

The fall striper run hasn't begun, but the action looks decent enough. Casting to albies near Horseshoe Reef/GLP sounds like fun, though maddening to wait for these speedsters to arrive.

Dogs, Ferrari, strangers -- weird stipulations in Wills - CNN.com

West, a California socialite and oil heiress, died when she was just 37 years old and requested that she be buried "in my lace nightgown ... in my Ferrari, with the seat slanted comfortably." Her family buried West in her powder-blue 1964 Ferrari 330 America, then covered the car with cement to deter car thieves.

Good call: nice examples of that year's 330 America can now sell for well over $300,000.

via www.cnn.com

Suffice it to say, I'm not sure my 1997 Subaru with 130,000 miles would make it on this list.

Congress begins to work on the Federal Estate Tax

With all of the talk of health care, public options, spicy mustard, socialism, and Michelle's arms; its nice to see some members of Congress address the approaching year-long federal estate tax repeal.  NACSOnline has a nice overview of what proposals have been  put forth to date:

• H.R. 436 – Rep. Earl Pomeroy (ND-at large):
Makes the current exemption of $3.5 million and the rate of 45% permanent. (Estates between $10 million and $23.5 million would be taxed at 50%.).

• H.R. 96 – Rep. Michael Conaway (TX-11): Increases to $1.85 million the maximum reduction amount for alternative valuations of farmland and other business property for estate tax purposes; and restores after 2009 the estate tax deduction for family-owned business interests and increase such deduction to $2 million. Allows annual inflation adjustments to such increased amounts after 2010.

• H.R. 173 – Rep. John Salazar (CO-3): Excludes from an individual’s estate farmland so long as the land continues to be used for farming. To exclude such farmland from the total estate, the individual must have earned 50% of their gross income from farming in at least 3 of the 5 years from the individual’s last tax year and during 5 of the 8 years prior to the individual’s death the land must have been used for farming. If the land is subsequently sold or no longer used for farming a tax will be applied on the heirs.

• H.R. 205 – Rep. Mac Thornberry (TX-13): Repeals the federal estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes.

• H.R. 498 – Rep. Harry Mitchell (AZ-5): Restores the unified credit against gift tax liability; provides for annual increases in the estate tax exclusion amount between 2010 and 2015 and establishes a permanent exclusion amount of $5 million for 2015 and thereafter; provides for an inflation adjustment to the estate tax exclusion amount after 2015; reduces estate tax rate brackets; and allows a surviving spouse to use the unused unified estate tax credit of a deceased spouse.

• H.R. 2023 – Rep. Jim McDermott (WA-7): Sets a $2 million per-person exemption, indexed for inflation, and imposes a 55 percent top rate.

• H.R. 3524 – Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-1): Prevents the value of inherited farmland from being subject to the estate tax if the decedent’s family continues to own it and farm it.

I do like the attempts to keep working farmland totally or partially exempt from tax; as it benefits non-corporate farmers.

For what its worth, with the hearth-care bill taking up so much time, I wouldn't be surprised to see a one year rollover of the current rates and exemptions.

Thanks to the Wills, Trusts and Estates Prof Blog for the heads up.

Estate Planning Bits: Pet trusts coming to Connecticut

When planning for a pet, there are many concerns to be addressed. For example, it is important to determine who will serve as the pet’s caretaker, and if establishing a trust, who will act as the trust protector. It is also important to remember that a pet will pass through the owner’s estate as personal property; therefore, the owner’s Last Will and Testament may need to be updated. In addition, the plan should address the final disposition of the pet, including guidelines for when euthanasia would be appropriate.

via bwlaw.blogs.com

Good advice from Bacon & Wilson's estate planning blog; especially reiterating that despite how much we love out pets, the law views them as merely personal property and should be treated as such when drafting your Last Will & Testament.