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Passage of SECURE Act expected by year-end

Estate planners have been watching Congress closely, 等着看设置每个社区会发生什么
Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act. 这项旨在提高美国人退休储蓄的立法已经取得了成效
implications for individual savers and for those planning to pass an inheritance to the next generation.

The SECURE Act passed the House of Representatives in May with a nearly unanimous margin of 417-3. Th e bill is considered to have strong bipartisan support and advocates are optimistic it will pass by year-end. 如果秋天不能通过一致同意的投票, 权威人士认为,它将附在年终支出法案上.

该法案取消了继承ira的延期条款, which means beneficiaries will no longer be able to stretch out over their lifetimes distributions from inherited IRAs. If enacted, the SECURE Act would require inherited IRAs to be dispersed within 10 years following the original owner’s death. 这一变化消除了将跨代继承收入保存数十年的能力, making taxes due much sooner on inherited IRAs.
A few exceptions remain. 配偶仍然可以使用延长条款, as will beneficiaries who are disabled, chronically ill or minor children. 然而,一旦一个未成年的孩子达到成年年龄,10年的时间就会开始.
Th is change would have a detrimental impact on high-net-worth individuals who had intended to pass sizable IRAs to children or grandchildren. 

《pg电子平台app新版下载》将大大降低此类赠与的长期利益. Critics say such retroactive changes amount to a breach of promise to savers who stored money in IRAs intending to create lifelong benefits for their heirs. Some critics suggest that such a move also opens the door for Congress to make other retroactive changes, 比如未来对某些罗斯个人退休账户征税,或者取消配偶个人退休账户的期限.

Benefits for younger and older workers Th e SECURE Act includes provisions designed to make it easier for small businesses to offer retirement plans. Under the bill, tax credit incentives are available for businesses that set up new retirement plans and for those that switch to automatic enrollment. 

For older workers, the SECURE Act would push the required minimum distribution age to 72 (up from 70 ½) and eliminate age restrictions on IRA contributions. For younger workers, 该法案将允许最高5美元的免罚提款,000, in the year following a birth or adoption.

Life insurance trusts: fund or collapse?

An Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT) has long been a fundamental tool for managing federal estate tax liabilities. 但随着联邦遗产税减免的大幅增加, 一些家庭怀疑他们的ILIT是否还有意义.

ILIT为你拥有你的人寿保险,本质上是将它从你的遗产中移除. ILITs之所以受欢迎,是因为它能够使人寿保险收益免受遗产税的影响. They also give the grantor the ability to direct who benefits from the trust and how the proceeds are to be used.

但《pg电子平台app新版下载》将遗产税免税额提高了一倍. In 2019, the exemption is $11.4 million per individual, indexed to inflation. 这意味着,许多为抵消遗产税而设立的个人所得税已不再需要.
Unwinding an irrevocable trust Some strategies:
•以等额现金价值资助ILIT回购保单;
•退保以换取现金价值,并将现金分配给受益人;
•调查终身财产和解并将价值分配给受益人;
• stop funding the policy but use the cash value to extend the benefit until the cash value runs out;
•停止资助该政策,但维持在减少的福利金额;
•停止为该保单提供资金,并向受益人借入保费, assuming the beneficiaries wish to keep the policy.

The trustee must honor the terms of the trust, 某些信托公司的救助选择可能更为严格. The terms of the trust cannot change, but the involved parties (grantor, beneficiaries, 受托人)确实可以选择取消不再需要的ILIT.

Before you unwind

请记住,目前的豁免规则将在2025年之后到期. Without further legislation, the exemption will return to an inflation-adjusted $5 million in 2026. 保护你的死亡抚恤金根据你的情况,ILIT可能还是有意义的. 考虑你的人寿保险策略如何影响你的遗产,如果:
•你认为你死后你的遗产将超过联邦遗产税豁免;
• your estate will exceed any applicable state estate taxes (typically lower than federal exemptions);
•您的人寿保险收益将使您的遗产超过免税限额;
你死后,债权人可以对你的遗产提出要求.

As the name indicates, an ILIT is irrevocable, so once you place a life insurance policy inside it, you generally can’t take it back out. However, grantors do have options to shut down the trust or alter it in ways that still protect the interests of the beneficiaries.

The SECURE Act passed the House of Representatives in May with a nearly unanimous margin of 417-3. The bill is considered to have strong bipartisan support and advocates are optimistic it will pass by year-end. 如果秋天不能通过一致同意的投票, 权威人士认为,它将附在年终支出法案上.

该法案取消了继承ira的延期条款, which means beneficiaries will no longer be able to stretch out over their lifetime distributions from inherited IRAs. If enacted, the SECURE Act would require inherited IRAs to be dispersed within 10 years following the original owner’s death. 这一变化消除了将跨代继承收入保存数十年的能力, making taxes due much sooner on inherited IRAs.

A few exceptions remain. 配偶仍然可以使用延长条款, as will beneficiaries who are disabled, chronically ill, or have minor children. 然而,一旦一个未成年的孩子达到成年年龄,10年的时间就会开始.
This change would have a detrimental impact on high-net-worth individuals who had intended to pass sizable IRAs to children or grandchildren.

《pg电子平台app新版下载》将大大降低此类赠与的长期利益. Critics say such retroactive changes amount to a breach of promise to savers who stored money in IRAs intending to create lifelong benefits for their heirs. Some critics suggest that such a move also opens the door for Congress to make other retroactive changes, 比如未来对某些罗斯个人退休账户征税,或者取消配偶个人退休账户的期限.

Benefits for younger and older workers The SECURE Act includes provisions designed to make it easier for small businesses to offer retirement plans. Under the bill, tax credit incentives are available for businesses that set up new retirement plans and for those that switch to automatic enrollment.

For older workers, the SECURE Act would push the required minimum distribution age to 72 (up from 70 ½) and eliminate age restrictions on IRA contributions. For younger workers, 该法案将允许最高5美元的免罚提款,000, in the year following a birth or adoption.

The danger of waiting too long

你可以将一份现有的人寿保险单赠予ILIT. However, 被保险人在赠与后三年内死亡的, 该政策仍将包括在遗产税中. Alternately, the ILIT can be funded with a new
三年的“回顾”期将不再适用. Of course, 购买一份新保险的费用往往会随着年龄的增长而增加, which might make that strategy impractical.

和遗产规划师谈谈,他会帮你检查你的人寿保险和遗产计划
determine if changes are needed.

Setting up a medical ID on your phone

You may already be familiar with the idea of setting an “in case of emergency” contact that displays on the lock screen of your phone to let emergency personnel know whom to call if you’re found alone unconscious or unable to speak.

智能手机供应商现在提供增强选项,让你提供更多的紧急情况
information, such as medical conditions and allergies. 新款iphone内置了健康应用程序,这让它变得很容易, 但安卓用户也可以通过其他方式提供类似的信息.

iPhone上的医疗ID在iOS 8及以上版本的iPhone上, 启动内置的健康应用程序,点击屏幕右下角的医疗ID图标. There are fields for
listing medical conditions and current medications, fields for emergency contacts, and a blank field where you can add additional notes, such as your preferred hospital or religious requests.

还有一个领域,你可以规定器官捐赠者的偏好. Even if your iPhone is locked, emergency personnel will be able to access your medical ID info by tapping on “Emergency” on the home screen and then “Medical ID.”

Emergency info on Android Android users can get similar functionality bydownloading a third-party app, such as Medical ID. (As always, 请小心您提供给第三方应用程序提供商的信息, as it can be hard to vet their security standards.)或者,你的手机可能以另一种方式内置了紧急联系人功能.

Search under settings, or Google your phone brand and “emergency contact lock screen” to find specific instructions for your phone. Be aware that anyone with access to your smartphone
也可以看到你的紧急联系人和/或健康信息,所以要明智的选择你
choose to share.

Avoid these mistakes when setting up a trust

When setting up a revocable trust, you need to be diligent about asset transfers, beneficiary designations, and funding formulas. 未能完成某些步骤可能会阻止信任按照您的预期行事, 给你的遗产带来额外的成本和意想不到的后果. Common issues include the following:

Failure to transfer assets

Setting up trust is just the first step. You must accurately transfer assets into the trust in order for its proper function to take effect. If assets are not transferred into a trust, 你死后他们还是要接受公共遗嘱认证法庭的审判.

Failure to update the beneficiary designation

信托通常包括指定受益人的账户, 比如退休账户和人寿保险单. Failing to transfer beneficiary designations to the trust could have unintended consequences; for example, someone might get more or less than you intended, or get access to funds sooner, and with less control by you, than you wanted.

Failure to adjust for current tax law.

If you executed your trust documents a while
ago, when the estate tax exemption was significantly lower, 你需要回顾你的计划,以确保你仍然得到预期的结果. Older estate plans commonly use a formula funding clause to divide assets between a credit shelter trust and the surviving spouse. However, 因为《pg电子平台app新版下载》将遗产税免税额提高了一倍, trusts using these old formulas may have the unintended consequence of disinheriting the spouse.

Be aware that the current federal tax exemption is set to expire in 2025; without new federal action, it will revert to $5 million. Talk to your estate planner about updating your current trust documents and make plans to review them regularly.

Naming a guardian for your children

Resist the urge to avoid naming a guardian as
part of your estate plan simply because it’s not easy to imagine someone else raising your children. 如果你不这样做,如果你去世了,你就把孩子的监护权交给了法院.

想一想,从你的家人开始,谁会是最好的选择. 记住,你选择的监护人不一定也要为你的孩子理财. Assuming
你有人寿保险和其他资产来照顾你的孩子, 受托人将代表你的孩子负责管理这些资产.

The person or people you choose to take care of the child can coordinate with the trustee on matters of money. If you want to name a couple, 如果其中一个人死了,提前想好你的意图, or if they separate or divorce. 如果您提供多个可能的监护人,则可以打开选项字段. That way, if the first person on your list cannot serve, you have approved of other possible options. That also makes it less likely that someone who you don’t want to serve as the guardian will be
able to do so.

If the guardian you are naming doesn’t live in
your state, including the name of someone who can take care of your children until that guardian can take over. 有些州有紧急监护代理,或者你可以把它写在遗嘱里. 

Consult an estate planning lawyer to help you make this decision and to ensure the documents are in place to match your wishes.