by Joel Roettger | Sep 29, 2017 | Charitable, Tax
Must a church file an exemption application in order to be recognized as tax-exempt under I.R.C. § 501(c)(3)? No. GENERAL RULE. An organization shall not be treated as tax-exempt under I.R.C. § 501(c)(3) unless it has given notice to the Secretary in such manner as...
by Joel Roettger | Sep 27, 2017 | Estate Planning, Trusts
As the previous post notes, a special rule applies to a support trust in which the settlor’s spouse is a beneficiary. In that case, the trustee shall consider the spouse’s other resources (i.e., assets outside of trust) before making a distribution. But...
by Joel Roettger | Sep 20, 2017 | Estate Planning, Tax
The 7520 rate for October 2017 will drop to 2.2%, down from 2.4% in September. A table showing historical 7520 rates since 2008 is here. The effectiveness of various estate planning and charitable planning techniques is measured in terms of the 7520 rate. These...
by Joel Roettger | Sep 20, 2017 | Estate Planning, Trusts
Consider the following scenario. A trust instrument provides that the trustee is authorized, but not required, to distribute income and principal for a beneficiary’s health, support, maintenance, and education. The beneficiary, who has significant assets of her...
by Joel Roettger | Sep 14, 2017 | Asset Protection, Probate
The previous post discusses the inability of a decedent’s creditors to reach the proceeds of life insurance under Tennessee law. But what about the proceeds from other types of insurance? Are they exempt from creditors as well? Yes: There shall be exempt from...
