If you are an estate planner, chances are you practice in a separate property (or common law) state. After all, there are only nine community property states. But that does not mean that community property will not appear on your radar.
I do, or I don’t – can a Settlor dictate how a beneficiary’s share is distributed based on the beneficiary’s marital status? Or, is such a trust provision void as a matter of public policy as an unlawful constraint on marriage? In a new case, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled that the Settlor can make such a trust provision and it will be upheld.
Trusts have significant income-tax implications because their tax brackets are compressed: they can reach the highest income tax bracket with much less income than an individual taxpayer.
Flexibility in the drafting of trusts will be even more important in 2022, when tax brackets are likely to be affected by rising inflation, the cost-of-living adjustment, and President Biden’s stimulus package. Income tax planning may not always be the first thing that comes to mind when drafting a trust, but the current political climate is causing clients to be concerned about rising income tax rates.