Financial issues » estate

Qualified Disclaimers

admin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:55:47 +0000

With reference to the estate tax, gift tax, and generation skipping transfer taxes, if a recipient makes a qualified disclaimer with respect to any interest in property within the estate of decedent or donor, the property will be treated as if it had never been transferred to the recipient.
An example of when this might be used wisely is as follows: John Doe dies unexpectedly and his will leaves everything to his wife and the will was written 30 years ago. If the wife now owns considerable assets in her name, she might prefer that part of the property in her husband’s estate pass to their children instead. By properly disclaiming some of the property designated to pass to her, she could reduce her estate taxes at her death (see an attorney for details on how this can be done).

Simultaneous Death

admin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:50:49 +0000

The will may provide that testator’s spouse shall be presumed to have survived the testator if both should die in a common disaster under circumstances that make it uncertain who died first. If the will does not contain such a simultaneous death clause, Oklahoma’s statute (Title 58, Oklahoma Statutes Annotated, Section 1001) directs that in event of such common disaster causing the simultaneous death of both husband and wife, it shall be ruled by the court that neither spouse shall have survived the other. The estate of each then would pass to his or her respective heirs or in accordance with their respective wills. The statute would disqualify the marital deduction savings on federal estate taxes if this provision is not included.

General Provisions Applying to All Wills

admin — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:25:22 +0000

General provisions that apply to all types of wills include:
• A spouse may dispose of all his or her separate estate by will, without the consent of the other spouse.
• A will cannot take precedence over:
1. A written antenuptial agreement. An antenuptial agreement is one made up between a man and woman prior to their marriage in which each agrees upon death of the other to take less property or different interest than which the law allows the surviving spouse.
2. A spouse’s elective share. The amount of property a spouse may receive under the laws of succession cannot be reduced by will without approval of the surviving spouse. If by chance this happened, the surviving spouse could elect to receive property under the state laws of succession which would, in effect, invalidate the distribution provisions to him or her under the will.