Postmortem Estate Planning

Description

The death of a client can create a wide range of tax issues, reporting obligations, and planning opportunities. This course examines the postmortem elections, valuation decisions, and basis considerations that can affect both estate tax and income tax results. Participants will review practical strategies for preserving flexibility and improving outcomes for estates and beneficiaries.

The program also addresses key planning issues involving QTIP elections, installment payment options for estate taxes, fiscal year and accounting method decisions, and the treatment of qualified plans and IRAs. Through this discussion, participants will gain a stronger understanding of how to guide clients through the tax and administrative issues that arise after death.

Highlights

• Postmortem estate planning strategies
• Alternate valuation date rules
• Savings bond interest acceleration
• Estate tax installment payment options
• QTIP elections
• Basis issues in postmortem planning
• Estate fiscal year and accounting method elections
• Qualified plans and IRAs after death

Objectives

• Identify key tax issues and planning opportunities that arise after a client's death
• Determine when the alternate valuation date may be used in estate tax planning
• Recognize planning considerations related to savings bond interest, QTIP elections, and estate tax installment payments
• Distinguish basis issues that affect postmortem income tax and transfer tax planning
• Identify election options involving estate fiscal year, accounting methods, qualified plans, IRAs

Designed For

CPAs, EAs, attorneys, financial planners, insurance agents, and bankers