Planning Potpourri

■ Gift Tax Blues: So you filed a gift tax return to report the
zillion dollar zeroed out GRAT (say the gift value was a buck so you could
report it). Good move (even better move to make the annuity payments on a
timely basis!). Your CPA attached so many documents to meet the adequate
disclosure rules that a fork lift was used to file the return with the IRS.
Good move. But as Charlie Tuna knows not every Tuna gets to be Starkist and
toll the statute of limitations (the time period when the IRS can assess a gift
tax). Did you report all your charitable gifts? According to some commentators
the tax Regulations suggest that the gift tax return charitable deduction
requires donations be reported. What if you don’t? Code Section 6501(e) says
that if you don’t report more than 25% of your gifts the statute of limitations
on the entire return is extended from 3 to 6 years. So the IRS might be given 6
years instead of 3 to bond with you over the gift tax return you filed
reporting a zillion dollar GRAT. Avoid this risk by fully reporting gift charitable
deductions.

■ Care Bear: Everyone thinks of their attorney, insurance agent, and
CPA when thinking of their estate planning team. But many folks need a bigger
cast to make the playoffs. Effective planning may not be achieved, if you’re on
in years, have a significant health issue, or don’t have close reliable family
members. More is needed. In many instances adding a care manager (RN, social
worker, geriatric consultant or similar professional) to your team can be the
key to your security. Helping you better present and explain health issues to
those you must interact with, even direct consultation with key family members,
can be an important role for the care manager to fulfill. A care manager describing
the physical and psychological implications of your health status to others on
your estate planning team can be invaluable in assuring that documents and
planning are tailored to best server your evolving needs. The care manager can
help develop a plan for your care for the future, and help your estate planners
craft the mechanisms to assure that the plan will be implemented.

 ■ 2010 Trusts: If you signed a trust in 2010 but before the
2010 Tax Act was passed (and understood!) call your estate planner and confirm
what must be done, if anything, to be sure your trust has the desired GST
status. Planners tried to anticipate the unknown tax law in lots of creative
ways and some of these require post-2010 Tax Act actions to get the result you
want.