What are the Income Tax Consequences of Bequests?

When receiving a bequest, many people question whether they will be subject to income tax.[1] As a basic matter, an individual’s income “does not include the value of property acquired by gift, bequest, devise, or inheritance.”[2] However, that does not mean the individual receiving assets by bequest has no income tax consequences to consider. Those consequences…
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Legacy Contacts and Digital Supplementation to your Estate Planning

As of the release of iOS 15.2, December 13, 2021, Apple released a new feature for its users, “Legacy Contacts”.[1] Historically, estate fiduciaries could receive this information with a court order, but the new process is designed to minimize the expense of time and money associated with getting access to a decedent’s account information. So,…
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Provisions to Consider When Using an LLC for Asset Protection

Holding property in a limited liability company, or LLC, can provide a certain level of asset protection to individuals as opposed to holding such property in their individual capacity. However, that is not to say that a good asset protection plan is as simple as transferring property to a formed LLC and calling it a…
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Important Estate Planning Concerns for Nontaxable Estates

The practice of “estate planning” covers a broad range of topics, one of which is accounting for gift and estate taxes. From the inception of the estate tax until the early 2000s, when the exemption amount was less than a million dollars, this was a facet of estate planning that practitioners had to evaluate in…
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Will Contests in Mississippi

As previously written upon by my colleague[1], probate is the process of proving a decedent’s Will to be his or her true Last Will and Testament. But, what happens when a decedent executed a Will when he or she lacked mental capacity? Or while under pressure from a certain beneficiary? Or the Will was not…
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Conveyance Without a Deed – A Mississippi Case

In a recent case out of the Court of Appeals for the State of Mississippi, the Court held that a writing titled an “Article of Agreement” (the “Agreement”) was sufficient to convey an interest in real estate to the decedent’s sisters.[1] The primary issue to be decided by the Court was whether the Agreement executed…
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Walters – Mississippi Vulnerable Persons Retaliatory Protection

The Mississippi Vulnerable Persons Act of 1986 (“MVPA”) was passed by the Mississippi Legislature in 1986 to provide protection for vulnerable persons in Mississippi who are abused, neglected, or exploited.[1] In addition to providing the penalties associated with abusing, neglecting, and exploiting a vulnerable individual, the MVPA requires that individuals report instances of known or…
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Navigating Gift Tax and QTIP: A Landmark Case

In a recent decision, the Tax Court addressed the complexities of gift tax and qualified terminable interest property (“QTIP”) rules, providing important insights for estate planning professionals and taxpayers alike.[1] The case centered on the interpretation of provisions related to the taxation of transfers between spouses, and in this context, termination of QTIP interests and…
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The Often-Overlooked Benefits of Qualified Small Business Stock

If you started a business organized as a C corporation, you may be able to avoid some, and possibly all, tax liability when you sell the stock of the C corporation. As previously written upon by Gray Edmondson,[1] Section 1202 of the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) provides for the exclusion of gain on Qualified Small…
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VA Pensions – Aid and Attendance and Housebound Ratings

I discussed the basics of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) pension benefits program (collectively “VA Pension Benefits”) in a prior article.[1] In that article, I alluded to additional benefits available to those that meet the requirements for Aid and Attendance or Housebound. If you have not read that article yet, I strongly encourage…
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[**Practice Alert: Corporate Transparency Act is Here: What You Need to Know**](https://esapllc.com/practice-alert-cta-mar-2024/)
[**Practice Alert: Corporate Transparency Act is Here: What You Need to Know**](https://esapllc.com/practice-alert-cta-mar-2024/)