2022 Cost of Living Adjustment of Certain Dollar Amounts Under Colorado Probate Code

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by Jody Hall, Paralegal

The 2022 cost of living adjustments of certain dollar amounts under the Colorado Probate Code has been published by the Colorado Department of Revenue. Probate practitioners should be aware of the change in figures related to the intestate share of a decedent’s surviving spouse and supplemental elective-share. The amounts for exempt property, lump sum exempt family allowance, installment amount exempt family allowance and collection of personal property by affidavit have been adjusted upwards from 2021 as well. Read more

2021 Cost of Living Adjustment of Certain Dollar Amounts Under Colorado Probate Code

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by Jody H. Hall

The 2021 cost of living adjustments of certain dollar amounts under the Colorado Probate Code has been published by the Colorado Department of Revenue.  Probate practitioners should be aware of the change in figures related to the intestate share of a decedent’s surviving spouse and supplemental elective-share.  The amounts for exempt property, lump sum exempt family allowance, installment amount exempt family allowance and collection of personal property by affidavit remain unchanged from 2020. Read more

Utilizing a Power of Appointment Committee in WINGS

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by Carol Warnick

As previewed in my blog post of January 25, 2021, Wyoming laws provide an opportunity to utilize a Wyoming Incomplete Gift, Non-Grantor Trust (“WING”) to potentially avoid state income tax on the sale of assets.  My previous post outlined the basic rules that must be followed for the WING to work properly, and in this blog post I want to focus on the distributions by committee in a WING.

The Distribution Committee must have at least two members other than the grantor and his or her spouse who are “adverse.”  An “adverse” party is defined in the Internal Revenue Code[1] and Treasury Regulations as someone who has a substantial beneficial interest in the trust which would be adversely affected by the exercise or non-exercise of the power possessed.  The other beneficiaries of the trust fit the description of adverse parties and are typically the other members. Read more

Tax and Estate Planning Perspectives

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by Kami A. Pomerantz

From a tax and estate planning perspective, we would like to make you aware of the following:

Tax Filing Extensions:

The IRS has extended the filing and payment deadline for all 2019 income tax returns to July 15, 2020. This means that no penalty or interest will be assessed for an individual’s failure to file or pay income taxes, regardless of amount, until after July 15, 2020.

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2020 Cost of Living Adjustment of Certain Dollar Amounts Under Colorado Probate Code

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by Jody Hall, Paralegal

The 2020 cost of living adjustments of certain dollar amounts under the Colorado Probate Code has been published by the Colorado Department of Revenue.  Probate practitioners should be aware of the change in figures related to the intestate share of a decedent’s surviving spouse, supplemental elective-share, exempt property, lump sum exempt family allowance, installment amount exempt family allowance and collection of personal property by affidavit.

Read more

Possible Legislative Change for Retirement Planning

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by Kami Pomerantz

On May 23, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (H.R. 1994) referred to as the SECURE Act.  The SECURE Act passed with broad support in the House with a vote of 417-3.  The SECURE Act incorporates many provisions in Retirement Enhancement Savings Act of 2019 (S. 972), also known as RESA, which has extensive bipartisan support in the Senate.  Recently a small group of Senators blocked passage of RESA in an attempt to allow 529 Plan funds (educational savings account funds) to be used to support home-schooling.  However, due to generally strong bipartisan support in the Senate and House as well as retirement plan industry support, it is expected that some form of RESA will ultimately pass, the two bills will be reconciled, and that the reconciled bill will become law. 

The SECURE Act makes it easier for many Americans to save for retirement.  Most of the provisions provide more flexibility to employers and reduce administrative costs regarding creation and implementation of employer related retirement plans.  It is hoped that these reforms will allow employers to create more robust retirement plans and to encourage their employees to participate in such plans. 

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Wyoming Creates a New Chancery Court Which Will Hear Trust Cases

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by Carol Warnick

Wyoming has created a chancery court which will be authorized to hear cases in fifteen (15) specific areas, including cases alleging breach of fiduciary duty and transactions governed by the Wyoming Uniform Trust Code, in addition to hearing business disputes.  This represents a significant change in the way many trust disputes, as well as business disputes, will be handled in Wyoming. 

Effective March 15, 2019, the special court of limited jurisdiction, called the Chancery Court of the State of Wyoming, was authorized to assist in the expeditious resolution of disputes involving commercial, business, trust and similar matters.  It is directed “to employ nonjury trials, alternative dispute resolution methods and limited motions practice and shall have broad authority to shape and expedite discovery as provided in the rules adopted by the supreme court to govern chancery courts.”  WYO. STAT § 5-13-115 (a). 

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2018 Cost of Living Adjustment of Certain Dollar Amounts Under Colorado Probate Code

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by Suzanne Coffman

The 2018 cost of living adjustment list of certain dollar amounts under the Colorado Probate Code has been published by the Colorado Department of Revenue.  It is important for probate practitioners to be aware of these numbers as they relate to the intestate share of a decedent’s surviving spouse, supplemental elective share, exempt property, lump sum exempt family allowance, installment amount exempt family allowance and collection of personal property affidavit. Read more

Planning Opportunities Under the New Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

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By Chelsea May

In December, President Trump signed into law what is commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.  This legislation, which is mostly effective as of January 1, 2018, is the first major reform to the federal tax code since 1986 and affects almost every individual and business taxpayers in some way or another. For individuals, the top tax rate has temporarily dropped from 39.6% to 37% and the standard deduction has nearly doubled.  Personal exemptions are repealed and the mortgage interest deduction is limited to interest on a mortgage of $750,000 or less per married couple. The AGI limitation for deductions of cash donations to public charities increased from 50% to 60% and the deduction for alimony payments was repealed (for divorces or separations executed after December 31, 2018).  Corporate tax rates have dropped from a 35% top rate to a permanent 21% flat rate, a 20% deduction is now available for certain pass through entity income and the corporate AMT has been repealed.

The new tax act also increased the federal estate and gift tax exemption amount. Specifically, for lifetime gifts and the estates of any decedents passing between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2025, the estate tax and GST tax exemption amounts were increased to $10 million per person, adjusted for inflation occurring after 2011 (expected to be about $11.2 million for 2018). The marginal transfer tax rate remains at 40%. Read more

New Uniform Directed Trust Act

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by Kelly Dickson Cooper

More and more, I review trust agreements that appoint a trustee, but then appoint other individuals or institutions to perform certain tasks that are normally in the domain of the trustee.  They are sometimes referred to as trust protectors, trust advisors, trust directors, special powerholders, investment trustees, or distribution trustees.  I most often see these appointments in the areas of investments or distributions.

The trust language that attempts to divide the responsibilities of a trustee among a group is often unclear and give rise to difficult questions as to the scope of each individuals’ responsibilities.  There is also the question of whether the trustee is responsible for the actions of the other appointees and if the appointees are fiduciaries.  These problems with interpretation are often exacerbated because the laws are not clear about the division of these responsibilities and the liability of each actor.  Read more