Question: Wife transfers her 50% interest in their house to husband’s revocable trust. Husband dies and 100% of house owned by credit trust in H’s trust of which W is beneficiary. When W dies,  [...]

Question: I’m going to make a gift to my daughter (over the current Federal annual gift tax exclusion amount). Is this considered a direct gift or a direct skip when I report the gift on my [...]

Question: Our assets are in a revocable living trust. These assets include stock mutual funds, among other assets. When the last of us dies, is there a step-up in cost basis to that date of death [...]

Question: How can someone, with a house, a rental house and investments altogether worth $4 million, plan for both a stepped-up in basis and the full federal estate tax exemption without allowing [...]

Question: A decedent has savings bonds unredeemed (final maturity 2030) that have just the decedent’s name only on the bond with no named beneficiary. The total redemption value of the [...]

Question: The beneficiaries want our trustee to petition the probate court to dissolve an irrevocable trust in Texas because we believe it has served it purpose. The trustee would agree. I read [...]

Question: I have bought your book “Get Your Ducks in a Row” and have enjoyed the reading. My question: in the year of passing can a decedent and their spouse gift up to the annual exclusion limit [...]

Question: I want to bequest some funds to my family members in Israel after my death. I live in California. Will there be taxes to pay from my estate if I leave money to a foreigner living in [...]

Question: My parent placed her Massachusetts vacation home in a revocable realty trust and included her two living adult children and herself in this trust. She apparently did this to avoid [...]

Question: I’m the beneficiary of a trust left by my husband. The investments in the trust include long- and short-term losses that could offset capital gains in other investments I hold in [...]