Klitzman Law Group, PLLC

What States Make You Pay an Inheritance Tax?

“As if losing a loved one weren’t hard enough, you might also have to add ‘death tax’ on the property that you receive from the estate—depending on where you live—in addition to all the other costs of death.”

Let’s start with defining “inheritance tax.” The answer depends on the laws of each state, so you’ll need to speak with an estate planning attorney to learn exactly how your inheritance will be taxed, says the article “States with Inheritance Tax” from yahoo! finance. There are six states that still have inheritance taxes: Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

In Iowa, you’ll need to pay an inheritance tax within nine months after the person dies, and the amount will depend upon how you are related to the decedent.

In Kentucky, spouse, parents, children, siblings and half-siblings do not have to pay inheritance taxes. Others need to act within 18 months after death but may be eligible for a 5% discount, if they make the payment within 9 months.

Timeframes are different county-by-county in Maryland, and the Registrar of Wills of the county where the decedent lived, or owned property determines when the taxes are due.

Only a spouse is exempt from inheritance taxes in Nebraska, and it has to be paid with a year of the decedent’s passing.

New Jersey gets very complicated, with a large number of people being exempted, as well as qualified religious institutions and charitable organizations.

In Pennsylvania, rates range from 4.5% to 15%, depending upon the relationship to the decedent. There’s a 5% discount if the tax is paid within three months of the death, otherwise the tax must be paid within nine months of the death.

As you can tell, there are many variations, from who is exempt to how much is paid. Pennsylvania exempts transfers to spouses and charities, but also to children under 21 years old. If one sibling is 20 and the other is 22, the older sibling would have to pay inheritance tax, but the younger sibling does not.

There’s also a difference as to which property is subject to inheritance taxes. In Nebraska, the first $40,000 inherited is exempt. Pennsylvania exempts certain transfers of farmland and agricultural property. All six exempt life insurance proceeds when they are paid to a named beneficiary, but if the policies are paid to the estate in Iowa, the proceeds are subject to inheritance tax.

Note that an inheritance tax is different than an estate tax. Both taxes are paid upon death, but the difference is in who pays the tax. For an inheritance tax, the tax is paid by heirs and the tax rate is determined by the beneficiary’s relationship to the deceased.

Estate tax is paid by the estate itself before any assets are distributed to beneficiaries. Estate taxes are the same, regardless of who the heirs are.

There are twelve states and the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.) that have their own estate taxes (in addition to the federal estate tax). Note that Maryland has an inheritance, state and federal estate taxes. The rest of the states with an estate tax are Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Vermont.

The large variations on estate and inheritance taxes are another reason why it is so important to work with an experienced estate planning lawyer who knows the estate laws in your state.

Reference: yahoo! finance (Jan. 6, 2021) “States with Inheritance Tax”

It Is Important to have a Digital Estate Plan

“What happens to all your digital accounts, services and property after you die? The official name for all these is a Digital Estate Plan. With the lines increasingly blurred between our on-and off-line lives, it's more important than ever to have a plan for your digital holdings.”

Just as you organize your physical possessions and financial accounts, you need to organize and plan for your digital estate. Otherwise, according to the recent article “Why You Need a Digital Estate Plan and How to Make One” from Next Avenue, you will leave a giant mess for your family.

Nearly 50 states have already passed laws that give a person’s family or their executor the right to access and manage some of their digital assets after they die. However, if the digital platform does not allow an executor or anyone to access and manage accounts, the problem will not be easily resolved.

Facebook has created a “Legacy Contact” and Google has an “Inactive Account Manager,” but they only work if you take the time to go through the process in advance. Sharing passwords and instructions or setting up an online password manager may or may not solve the problem for the 200 other accounts. Why?

Increasing security means that many accounts require confirmation codes, typically sent to a mobile phone or email address, before an account may be accessed. If the phone or email is locked, then access will be impossible. Two-factor authentication makes it harder for digital criminals to access your accounts, but it also makes it difficult for heirs and executors. Some people have taken a step into the future to have their accounts opened via facial recognition. How then do you access accounts?

Not all digital accounts and services have the same requirements for access.

Here is a way to think about your digital estate: what is the level of importance for each account? If it were deleted and all contents removed, how would it impact your life? Is it a “single sign on,” where credentials are needed to log into other accounts? Are there payment methods attached to the account, like automatic withdrawals or credit cards?

Many accounts may be dormant, like an old email address you stopped using ten years ago. However, what about the important accounts that are central to the business of your life, like checking and savings accounts, or personal email?

Tech giants like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple have made their way into many aspects of our lives. If you have a library of ebooks, or an online gaming presence with digital assets, would you wish to maintain those assets? Think about all the autopayment accounts that you have—and how much money your estate would lose if those accounts could not be shut down.

Once you have identified all of your important accounts, examine them one by one to see what if they have a legacy process. Then start thinking about what you would like to happen to the accounts and their contents, in case of your incapacity or death. Having a digital estate plan today is not futuristic at all—it’s how we live, and our estate plans should be updated accordingly.

Your estate planning attorney will know what your state’s laws are for digital assets, just as they do for more traditional assets.

Last word: do not include your usernames or passwords in your will. A will becomes a public document upon probate, and this information must be protected from identity thieves if the accounts are to remain secure.

Reference: Next Avenue (Jan. 1, 2021) “Why You Need a Digital Estate Plan and How to Make One”

Wealthy Women Face Challenges in Estate and Tax Planning

“Given the expectation the Biden administration will roll back some of Trump’s favorable policies of the past four years, tax consultants and accountants are already hard at work. But for HNW women, dealing with election fallout is minor, compared to the bigger fish they have been frying in the tax pan for decades.”

Election cycles often mean changes to estate and tax planning strategies around estate planning, charitable donations and capital gains, but that’s not the only challenge facing wealthy women now, says a recent article “For Wealthy Women, Tax and Estate Planning is Weak Link” from Think Advisor. Preparing for big changes, from presidential elections to death or divorce, is all too often a surprise, even for accomplished and financially successful women.

Statistically, women do outlive men, so there needs to be a plan for the unexpected. As attitudes shift and more women build their own wealth, they are less likely to stay in unsatisfying marriages. Although the overall rate of divorce in America is declining, the number of “gray” divorces is increasing.

One essential step in planning for high net worth women is to consider what assets they will need to continue their current lifestyles, and what assets would be at risk, in case of death or divorce.

Some assets are not available to singles, like the Spousal Lifetime Access Trust, an irrevocable trust available to couples but not to singles. For those considering divorce who have a SLAT agreement, speak with your estate planning attorney, as the SLAT may include a provision that terminates spousal trust rights upon divorce. Women should not assume that these or other assets will be available to them in case of a divorce.

There are also future costs associated with losing a spouse. If women do not have long-term care insurance, it should be purchased, if she still qualifies. These policies become more expensive as time goes by, so the 40s and 50s are the ideal time to invest in them.

Timing and tax policy changes from a new administration make this a good time to begin planning for any changes that may come in the next year. Women with substantial net worth should be making plans for gifting and trusts now. The gift tax lifetime exemption remains at $11.7 million, but even if there is no legislative action, on January 1, 2026, this will return to $5 million.

Dramatic changes in asset valuation resulting from the pandemic may make this a good time to transfer shares to children and grandchildren, including real estate holdings and closely held family businesses.

The effects of COVID-19 have provided a global lesson in preparing for the unexpected. Among many other issues has been a huge backlog in most surrogate courts. Even families who had an estate plan in place, found their estate planning hampered by waiting for courts to appoint executors.

In many cases, surviving spouses (mostly women) found themselves unable to move an estate plan forward, gain access to assets, even to pay household bills. Families who have been lucky enough to escape the impact of COVID-19 so far, should take the opportunity to plan for the unexpected, including the creation of a revocable trust, so the trustee can swiftly access assets and start managing right away, rather than waiting for courts to clear.

Reference: Think Advisor (Jan. 6, 2021) “For Wealthy Women, Tax and Estate Planning is Weak Link”

What Steps to Take when Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s

“Obviously, the first step is to work with your doctor to slow the progression. However, there are legal steps you need to take as quickly as possible.”

A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or any serious progressive disease takes some time to absorb. However, during the days and weeks after the diagnosis, it is important to take quick steps to protect the person’s health as well as their legal and financial lives, advises the recent article “What to do after an Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis?” from The Indiana Lawyer.

Here are the legal steps that need to be taken, before the person is too incapacitated to legally conduct their own affairs:

General Durable Power of Attorney—A person needs to be appointed to perform legal and financial duties when the time comes. This can be a family member, trusted friend or a professional.

Health Care Power of Attorney—A person must be entrusted with making health care decisions, when the patient is no longer able to communicate their wishes.

HIPAA Authorization—Without this document, medical care providers will not be able to discuss the person’s illness or share reports and test results. An authorized person will be able to speak with doctors, pick up prescriptions and obtain medical reports. It is not a decision-making authorization, however.

Living Will—The living will explains wishes for end-of-life medical care, including whether to prolong life using artificial means.

Funeral Plans—Some states permit the creation of a legally enforceable document stating wishes for funerals, burials or cremation and memorial services. If a legal document is not permitted, then it is a kindness to survivors to state wishes, and be as specific as possible, to alleviate the family’s stress about what their loved one would have wanted.

Medicaid Planning—Care for Alzheimer’s and other dementias becomes extremely costly in the late stages. A meeting with an elder law attorney is important to see if the family’s assets can be protected, while obtaining benefits to pay for long-term and dementia care.

After the patient dies, there may be a claim against it from the state to recover Medicaid costs. By law, states must recover assets for long-term care and related drug and hospital benefits. All assets in the recipient’s probate estate are subject to recovery, except if surviving spouse, minor children, blind or disabled child is living or where recovery would cause hardship.

With good planning and the help of an experienced elder law attorney, the family may be able to mitigate claims by the government against the estate.

Reference: The Indiana Lawyer (Jan. 6, 2020) “What to do after an Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis?”