In Estate of Jon den Hollander, an interesting question arose regarding a court order restricting a separated spouse from dissipating marital assets. This order is often established to prevent the deprivation of one’s spouse of equitable distribution. What if the separated husband dies before the divorce is finalized with a will directing his assets to those other than his spouse? Would that be considered, “dissipating marital assets” and therefore be in violation of the court order? [Read more…] about Separated Husband’s Will Upheld by Court despite Spouse’s Court Order
Got Unreported Foreign Assets? Get Out of Jail Free
The FBAR: Who Should File? Do you have income overseas you forgot to report? Did Grandpa leave you his foreign bank account when he passed away? If you have foreign bank accounts holding more than $10,000 in the aggregate anytime during the year, you are required to file an FBAR (Report of Foreign Bank Accounts) by June 30th of the following year. It doesn’t matter whether the foreign accounts generate income or not; just owning them, or having signature authority, requires you to file.
What’s the Big Deal? Failure to file can result in serious consequences. The sanctions for not completing the FBAR include numerous severe civil penalties and potential prosecution followed by a term in federal prison. [Read more…] about Got Unreported Foreign Assets? Get Out of Jail Free
NJ Court Rules in Favor of Estate with Madoff Account
An estate’s assets are valued for tax purposes by their fair market value at the time of the decedent’s death. A subsequent decrease in value would generally not affect that tax basis, as has been ruled in several NJ court cases. An interesting issue brought up in Estate of Warshaw v. Dir., Div. of Taxation was whether a subsequent discovery that the funds in an IRA account were worthless on the decedent’s date of death would be taken into consideration by the court. [Read more…] about NJ Court Rules in Favor of Estate with Madoff Account
Unexecuted Will Admitted to Probate by NJ Superior Court
In an interesting ruling by the New Jersey Appellate Division in the Matter of Estate of Richard D. Ehrlich, it was determined that a will that was neither dated nor signed could be admitted to probate. Richard Ehrlich, a trust and estates attorney, passed away on Sept. 21, 2009 leaving Todd and Jonathan Ehrlich, and Pamela Venuto, his niece and nephews, as his only next of kin. After his passing, Jonathan discovered a copy of a purported will in a drawer. It was typed on legal paper and included Richard Ehrlich’s name and law office address on each page, although it wasn’t dated or signed. It did include, in decedent’s own handwriting, a notation “Original mailed to Harry Van Sciver 5/20/2000”. The document named Harry Sciver as Executor of purported will. Van Sciver predeceased the decedent and the original of the document was never returned. The purported will stated that Jonathan was to receive a significantly larger portion of the estate than Todd or Pamela. For a complete copy of the case, click here: Estate of Richard D. Ehrlich [Read more…] about Unexecuted Will Admitted to Probate by NJ Superior Court
Gifts that Catch the IRS’s Attention
A recent publication by the U.S. Government Accountability Office highlights the increasing IRS trend of auditing returns that include items likely to involve an appraiser. A primary focus is on gift and estate returns, which often include such items. IRS technical advisors identified several gifts as being likely to involve an appraiser, including:
• Retirement plans
• Personal residence
• Real estate, improved
• Real Estate partnerships
• Other limited partnerships
• Art
If you are considering gifting your business make sure to have a certified business valuator appraise it. You’ll be happy you did if the IRS should ever come knocking.
Jeffrey Urbach Awarded Certificate of Excellence from NACVA
Congratulations to partner Jeffrey Urbach, who has earned a Certificate of Excellence by the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA) as the 2011 Instructor of Exceptional Distinction. Jeff, a Certified Valuation Analyst, generously shares his expertise and wisdom as a regular lecturer for NACVA, greatly enriching all those privileged to hear him. Jeff is accredited in Business Valuation. His specialty is the business valuation of medical and dental practices, law offices and other professional practices.