On January 27, 2023, the Supreme Court of Iowa issued an opinion in the matter of Richard Grout as Trustee of the Helen Schardein 2018 Revocable Trust v. Dan R. Sickels (No. 21-0556). In the Spring of 2014, Helen Schardein, who was in her nineties, purchased a lake lot at Sun Valley Lake for $85,000.00 and titled it in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, with Dan R. Sickels, who provided various services to her. Helen had worked as a real estate broker and abstractor. Dan met Helen in 2012, and performed work on Helen’s rental properties and assisted her
More Legal News & Information... →On June 15, 2022, the Court of Appeals of Iowa issued an opinion in the matter of the Estate of Kevin L. Barz, Brad Staley and Susan Staley, Appellants (No. 21-0563). The case involves Kevin Barz and his spouse who both died in a motor vehicle accident. The Barz’s were survived by three children who were the co-executors of the estate. The co-executors filed a wrongful death action against the tortfeasor and his insurance company. A settlement was reached with the tortfeasor for $622,264.15. The settlement provided that it “was paid solely as compensation for the individual loss of consortium”.
More Legal News & Information... →On January 14, 2022, the Iowa Supreme Court issued an Opinion in the Matter of the Guardianship of L.Y. The case is the first interpretation of the new Guardianship Act which went into effect on January 1, 2020. The case involved young parents who consented to a temporary guardianship for the paternal grandparents to serve as guardians of their five-year-old daughter so that the daughter could be placed on the grandparents’ medical insurance and easily travel with them on vacation. The guardianship was also to provide an opportunity for the parents to complete their divorce and to establish stable lives.
More Legal News & Information... →On June 11, 2021, the Iowa Supreme Court issued an opinion in the case of David Buboltz and Donna Reece, vs. Patricia Birusingh, Estate of Cletis C. Ireland, and Kumari Durick. Cletis Ireland died in March 2016 at age 92. She was an only child, was never married, and had no children. At the time of her death she owned a family century farm on which she had resided most of her life. In 2001, the decedent executed a Will that divided her farm in equal shares to David Buboltz, a farmer who had cash rented eighty acres of the
More Legal News & Information... →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.
More Legal News & Information... →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
More Legal News & Information... →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
More Legal News & Information... →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
More Legal News & Information... →On December 20, 2019, the President signed into law the Secure Act. This article will focus on the key provisions of the new Act. The new Act changes the beginning age for taking required minimum distributions to age 72. The new law applies to account owners who turn 70½ after the year 2019. The new Act also repeals the prohibition on contributions to a traditional IRA by an individual who has attained the age of 70½. Owners of traditional IRA’s can now make contributions past the age of 70½. The new Act also allows taxpayers to withdraw up to $5,000
More Legal News & Information... →On November 8, 2019, the Iowa Supreme Court issued an opinion in the Matter of the Application of Coe College for Interpretation of Purported Gift Restriction. The case involves a gift of seven paintings of Grant Wood in 1976 by the Eppley foundation to Coe College in Cedar Rapids. The gift letter stated that the paintings would be given to the college “and that this would be their permanent home, hanging on the walls of Stewart Memorial Library”. The college treated the paintings on its books as an unrestricted gift that could be sold or otherwise alienated. In 2016 an
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