Tag Archives: taxes

Estate Planning

Why You shouldn’t Transfer Your House to your Child

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If your home is your primary asset, you may believe you can accomplish your estate planning goals by transferring ownership of your house to your child while you are still alive. Although this can keep your house from going through the probate process, it can also create significant issues such as:

  • Transferring your house while you are alive means that you will lose any property discounts that you are eligible for (many states offer discounts to persons over 65) which will result in an increase in your property taxes. Some states also charge a fee for every transfer. Not understanding this can be very costly to you. Depending on your financial situation, this could get you into tax trouble.
  • If your child has had financial struggles, transferring your house to him or her could put it into jeopardy. Once title to the home is in your child’s name, it becomes vulnerable to your child’s creditors and other legal troubles. What if your child files bankruptcy? Your house is their asset!
  • Although you may have a strong relationship with your child, nobody knows the future. If you were to have a falling out, your child will not be legally obligated to allow you to continue to live in your home without a lawsuit.
  • If you have more than one child, transferring title of your home to only one child can cause sibling rivalry and disputes. However, putting all of your children’s names on the title to your home can also cause fighting if they can’t agree on what to do with it. Having numerous names on the title can also make the home vulnerable to all of their creditors.

The transfer of title to your children is subject to the federal gift tax. While it may be exempt from payment of a tax (depending on the size of your estate), it still requires filing of a gift tax return.

You could lose the step-up in basis under the tax laws which means your children pay income tax on the future sale of your home.

Your creditors can still set aside the transfer to your children. The Fraudulent Conveyance Act protects creditors where you transfer assets without adequate consideration.

It is important to remember that even if you transfer your home out of your name, there are other assets in your estate that may still make a probate action necessary. If you hope to avoid probate, lower tax liability, and save you and your family money, contact us for an appointment. Creating an effective estate plan does not have to be expensive – let us help! To be perfectly honest, we almost never recommend transfer of a house to your children as a strategy to avoid probate or taxes. There are better and more effective tools.

The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.

Asset Protection Trust Attorney Utah
Estate Planning, Uncategorized

What does an Estate Plan Cost?

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If you are considering establishing a comprehensive estate plan, you are probably wondering how much it will cost you. Like most things, the answer depends upon your individual circumstances. Your family and your finances are unique, so your estate plan will be designed to fit your specific needs and goals.

Before one of our seasoned estate planning lawyers can provide you with an estimate to create your estate plan, we must review your financial documents and learn about your family structure. It is important that you do not jump to the conclusion that an estate plan is too expensive! In fact, when compared to what it will cost you and your family if you do not have an estate plan, the cost is typically very minimal.

If you die without a Will, Trust and other estate planning documents, it is likely that significant portion of your estate will go to pay taxes. Additionally, it can be expensive for your family to handle the administration of your estate through the probate procedures. By paying for your estate plan now, you can save you and your family thousands of dollars in the future. Finally, you should also consider how an estate plan may help protect your assets from creditors.

To learn more about what your estate plan will cost and how it can save you money, contact our office today. We can create an estate plan that is tailor-suited to meet your unique needs and that will provide you the peace of mind that you, your family and your wealth is protected.

The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.

Asset Protection

Important Facts About Offshore Trusts

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If you are interested in protecting your assets, you may want to consider establishing an offshore trust. Offshore trusts allow you to transfer your property and assets into the trust and the trustee becomes the party responsible for managing the assets and distributing them to beneficiaries as set forth in the trust document.

Assets You Can Transfer Into an Offshore Trust

There are a wide variety of types of assets that can be held be an offshore trust, including:

  • Funds deposited in bank accounts
  • Investments
  • Real property
  • Intellectual property
  • Life insurance policies issued on your life
  • Most other types of assets

Advantages of an offshore trust

Offshore trusts offer numerous benefits. They are an effective tool for wealth protection, they offer privacy, and they can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your family. Offshore trusts are recognized in most jurisdictions and they be an important tool in estate tax planning.

In determining if an offshore trust is the best solution for you, we can review your individual circumstances and help you understand all of your options. In general, an offshore trust benefits individuals who want to protect their wealth against uncertainty in the economy or within their own family. It can help you distribute your property and assets to your heirs in a tax-efficient manner and in a way that minimizes estate taxes. An offshore trust also allows you to consolidate the ownership of assets that may be located in a variety of locations (including on different continents) in one place.

The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.

Estate Planning

Who is Liable for the Debts of a Decedent?

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If you have recently lost a loved one, you may be wondering who is responsible for paying his or her debts. The good news is that nobody is personally liable for another person’s debts (unless you were a co-borrower or co-debtor with the decedent). The law provides that the creditors of a deceased person must be paid out of his or her estate before any distributions can be made to the heirs. This may include selling assets of the decedent in order to pay outstanding debts. Thus, if you take property from the decedent’s estate before all of the debts are paid, you may be liable for paying creditor claims. However, there are some exemptions that allow assets to be distributed to heirs of the Estate even though creditors don’t get paid.

Utah law sets forth the order of priorities for a decedent’s debts as follows:

  1. Reasonable funeral expenses up to $6,000.
  2. Administrative costs and fees, which includes paying the personal representative’s fees and the fees for the estate attorney.
  3. Debts and taxes
  4. Reasonable and necessary medical expenses from last 60 days of the decedent’s last illness.
  5. Family allowance for necessities.
  6. Child support arrearages.
  7. Debts acquired by continuing decedent’s business after his or her death.
  8. All other claims.

After satisfying all prior classes, a class of creditors shall be paid pro rata based upon the claim amounts if there are insufficient estate assets remaining to pay the class in full. Once the debts have been paid, the estate can make distributions to the beneficiaries.

If you have been appointed to administer a loved one’s estate, we can help. We will assist you in not only fulfilling your legal obligations, including paying the debts of the decedent, but we will also help you avoid any legal issues or personal liability.

The Astill Law Office has provided high quality legal services for over 30 years. We specialize in wills, trusts, estate planning, and asset protection. If you have any questions about creating a Trust, Will, or estate planning in general, contact The Astill Law Office at 801-438-8698.