Ann Aldrich drafted her own will on an “E-Z Legal Form.”  In Article III, entitled “Bequests,” just after the form’s pre-printed language “direct[ing] that after payment of all my just debts, my property be bequeathed in the manner following,” she hand wrote instructions directing that all of the following “possessions listed” go to her sister, Mary Jane Eaton.  If Mary Jane were to predecease her, the possessions were to be distributed to her brother, James Aldrich. 

In PLR 201132017, the IRS ruled in this case, the documentation submitted by Surviving Spouse strongly indicates that Decedent and Surviving Spouse did not intend to have any control over the assets held in the By-Pass Trust, and that the provision in Section 4.01 of Trust to charge Surviving Spouse’s debts, expenses and death taxes from the By-Pass Trust was the result of a scrivener’s error.  In reforming the By-Pass Trust, Court found that the modification

The Appeals Court has held in Dickdow v US pursuant to 26 U.S.C. § 6511(a), a taxpayer seeking such a refund must file his refund claim within three years of filing the tax return or within two years from the time the tax was paid, whichever is later. Furthermore, for taxpayers who claim a refund within three years of  filing the return, § 6511(b)(2)(A) substantively limits the amount of any such refund to the portion of the

John Sullivan was born in May 1912.  He married his wife, Odette, in 1956.  John and Odette did not have any natural born children of their own but adopted Odette’s sister’s children, Annabelle and Valerie.    In 1995, Annabelle left the home after a falling-out and never reconciled with John or Odette.  In 1995, John and Odette executed new wills disinheriting Annabelle.  Valerie was to inherit the entire estate should there not be a surviving spouse.  Valerie

The IRS has released Draft Form 706 and Draft Instruction 706 for decedents who died within the 2010 calendar year. Beliveau Law Group: Massachusetts | Florida | New Hampshire The attorneys at the Beliveau Law Group provides legal services for estate planning (wills and trusts), Medicaid (planning and applications), probate (estate and trust administration), business law (formation and operation), real estate (residential and commercial), taxation (federal and state), and civil litigation (in connection with these practice areas).

The Internal Revenue Service issued guidance on the treatment of basis for certain estates of decedents who died in 2010. The guidance assists executors who are making the choice to opt out of the estate tax and have the carryover basis rules apply. Form 8939, the basis allocation form required to be filed by executors opting out of the estate tax, is due Nov. 15, 2011. Under the guidance issued, an executor must file Form 8939,

In PLR 201129033, IRS has privately ruled that transfers of non-voting common stock by a donor or his spouse to charity will be transfers of the entire interest in the property, not a nondeductible split-interest under Code Sec. 2522(c), reasoning that the non-voting common stock was a separate property interest from the other class of stock in the corporation. Additionally, IRS found that the value of the charitable gifts for Code Sec. 2512 purposes equals that