Federal and State Income Tax Deadlines Extended

On April 23, 2021   /   Business Law West Des Moines, Legal Resources West Des Moines, Taxation Law West Des Moines  
2021 state and federal tax deadlines

The IRS has extended the filing and payment deadline to May 17, 2021 for 2020 Federal income tax returns.  The extension applies to individuals, businesses, trusts and estates.  By extending the deadline to May 17, the IRS is automatically postponing to the same date the time for individuals to make year 2020 contributions to IRAs (Traditional and Roth), health savings accounts, Archer Medical Savings Accounts and Coverdell education savings accounts.  In addition, for tax year 2017 Federal income tax returns, the normal April 15 deadline to claim a refund has been extended to the new date of May 17, 2021. 

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Recent Judgment on Will Challenges During Lifetime

On March 26, 2021   /   Estate & Trust Administration, Estate Planning West Des Moines, Legal Resources West Des Moines, Probate Law West Des Moines, Will & Trusts West Des Moines  
interferance with inheritance

On January 21, 2021, the Iowa Supreme Court issued an opinion in the case of In The Matter of the Guardianship and Conservatorship of Vernon D. Radda v. Washington State Bank, as Conservator for Vernon D. Radda.  The issue in the case was whether a prospective heir can bring a declaratory judgment action under Section 633.637 (2019) of the Iowa Code, to determine the validity of wills before the testator dies.  The Ward executed wills in 1992 and 2015 while he was under a voluntary Conservatorship and without any judicial determination of his testamentary capacity.  The sister of the Ward

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Lawsuit Arising Out of Gift of LLC Interest

On February 26, 2021   /   Business Law West Des Moines, Legal Resources West Des Moines  
business and estate law llc des moines

On February 3, 2021, the Iowa Court of Appeals issued an opinion in the case of Erwin v. Erwin, No. 19-1978 (Iowa Ct. App. Feb. 3, 2021). that involved a dispute between a father and son regarding the operation of their member/managed LLC.  In 2012, the father and his spouse transferred title of farm ground owned by them into a LLC for estate planning purposes.  The property was subject to a mortgage, however, the deed did not state that the transfer was subject to a mortgage.  The father subsequently made a gift to his son of one-half of the membership

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Can Deathbed Instructions Amend a Trust?

On January 27, 2021   /   Elder Law West Des Moines, Estate & Trust Administration, Estate Planning West Des Moines, Legal Resources West Des Moines, Will & Trusts West Des Moines  
inheritance tax code iowa

On October 7, 2020, the Iowa Court of Appeals issued a Ruling in the matter of the Sandahl Trust (2017).  Craig Sandahl executed the Sandahl Trust which was a Revocable Grantor Trust in 1993.  The Trust was funded with substantially all of Craig Sandahl’s assets.  The Trust was last restated by a document dated August 14, 2017, which was two months before Craig Sandahl passed away. The Trust distributed assets to two groups of recipients.  One group was the “Descendant’s Trust” of which Craig’s children’s lineal descendants were the beneficiaries and the other group was given to the Community Foundation

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Final Regulations on Deductibility of Expenses of Estates and Non-Grantor Trusts

On October 27, 2020   /   Business Law West Des Moines, Estate & Trust Administration, Estate Planning West Des Moines, Legal Resources West Des Moines, Taxation Law West Des Moines, Will & Trusts West Des Moines  
business taxes, business tax deductions, deduction limits, business expense threshold limits, De Minimis Safe Harbor Expense Threshold

On September 21, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations in regard to the deductibility of expenses of estates and non-grantor trusts.  The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which was passed previously, bars individuals from claiming miscellaneous itemized deductions for the years 2018 through 2025.  After the passage of the TCJA, there are questions on how such barred itemized deductions would impact estates and non-grantor trusts. The final regulations state that deductions for costs which were paid or incurred in connection with the administration of an estate or trust and which would not have been incurred if the

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New Iowa Supreme Court Case – Estate Planning & Statute of Limitations

On September 28, 2020   /   Business Law West Des Moines, Estate & Trust Administration, Estate Planning West Des Moines, Legal Resources West Des Moines, Real Estate Law West Des Moines, Will & Trusts West Des Moines  
iowa real estate law contract

On June 12, 2020, the Iowa Supreme Court issued a ruling in the case of In The Matter of the Estate of Sandra R. Franken, John E. Rottinghaus and Dessie Rottinghaus vs. Lincoln Savings Bank, Fiduciary of the Estate of Sandra R. Franken.  Said Ruling was amended on August 17, 2020. In 1973 the Rottinghauses sold real property of Dessie to Sandra and James Kipp, as joint tenants with full rights of survivorship.  The deed granted the Rottinghauses a first right of refusal which stated as follows: Grantees hereby agree that they will not sell or otherwise convey the premises

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Estate Planning in the Covid-19 Crisis

On July 24, 2020   /   Elder Law West Des Moines, Estate & Trust Administration, Estate Planning West Des Moines, Legal Resources West Des Moines, Will & Trusts West Des Moines  
last will and testament covid-19

Estate planning has changed dramatically during the Covid-19 crisis.  The majority of our clients are older individuals who are at a higher risk of being infected with the virus and who have an elevated risk of serious complications from the virus.  Many of our clients are concerned about contracting the virus and have reached out to us about their desires to update their estate planning documents as soon and safely as possible. The challenge facing all estate planning attorneys is how to safely perform estate planning for vulnerable clients in the Covid-19 environment.  From the middle of March to the

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New Iowa Supreme Court Probate Case – Harold Youngblut vs. Leonard Youngblut

On June 26, 2020   /   Estate & Trust Administration, Estate Planning West Des Moines, Legal Resources West Des Moines, Probate Law West Des Moines, Will & Trusts West Des Moines  
probate law case iowa supreme court

On June 12, 2020, the Supreme Court of Iowa issued a decision in the Harold Youngblut vs. Leonard Youngblut case.  The case involves two brothers, Harold and Leonard Youngblut.  Their parent were Earl and Agnes Youngblut.  Earl and Agnes were the parents of twelve children, three of whom predeceased them.  Earl and Agnes formed a corporation, Youngblut Farmland Ltd. in 1980 and transferred most of their farm assets into the corporation with the exception of farm ground in Tama County known as the “South Farm”.  Both Harold and Leonard worked for the corporation until Leonard left in 1988 over a

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1031 Like Kind Exchange Relief

On May 27, 2020   /   Business Law West Des Moines, Contract Law West Des Moines, Corporate Law West Des Moines, Taxation Law West Des Moines  
1031 Like Kind Exchange

Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Service Code allows a taxpayer to defer recognition of capital gains and related federal income tax liability on the exchange of investment real estate.  The capital gains and related federal income tax liability are deferred to the time that the replacement real estate is sold.  In order to meet the IRS requirements, the seller must use a qualified intermediary to handle the sale of the property and the purchase of the replacement property. A taxpayer has 45 days from the date of sale to identify the replacement property and 180 days from the date

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Information on Protecting Yourself From the COVID-19 Crisis

On March 23, 2020   /   Legal Resources West Des Moines, Uncategorized  
protection from covid-19 coronavirus

This month’s Blog comes to you at a time when our country is dealing with the COVID-19 crisis.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued the following recommendations to protect yourself. Know How it Spreads There is currently no vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus. The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person. Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet). Through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. These droplets can land

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