New York Times “Wealth Matters” columnist Paul Sullivan recently interviewed John O. McManus, founding principal of NJ-based McManus & Associates and a top AV-rated attorney, about the implications of a recent court case in which he successfully helped a client named Kate contest the will of her late grandmother. John grasped the dynamics at play in Kate’s situation with her family, which was crucial to a successful outcome with the case.
A local expert weighs in on the top 10 considerations
On assignment for CNBC, Jennifer Woods recently penned an article to help readers think through the terms when creating trusts in order to ensure money “lands in the right hands and isn’t squandered.” For expert guidance on the topic, Woods turned to John O. McManus, founding principal of McManus & Associates and a top AV-rated estate planning lawyer.
Andrea Coombes
Andrea Coombes writes the “Ways and Means” column for MarketWatch, a media property of the Wall Street Journal that has nearly 9.5 million unique visitors per month. McManus & Associates Founding Principal and top AV-rated Attorney John McManus recently spoke with Coombes about special considerations for women when it comes to estate planning.
Gail Liberman—personal finance columnist for Dow Jones Retirement Weekly and the Palm Beach Daily News, contributing editor for Financial Advisor magazine, and best-selling author (her latest book is “Quick Steps to Financial Stability” – Que/Penguin)—recently chatted with John O. McManus, founding principal of McManus & Associates and a top AV-rated tax and estate planning attorney, for her column “Managing Your Fortune.” As part of her regular spot for the Palm Beach Daily News, Liberman’s piece “Need a revocable living trust?” explores the commonly-heard recommendation from financial gurus to implement one of these planning vehicles.
In February, Trusts & Estates/Wealthmanagement.com launched a new monthly newsletter that caters to financial advisors. The goal of the undertaking? Demystify the world of estate planning and encourage collaboration between attorneys and the more investment-focused professionals.
This month, an article from John O. McManus, founding principal of McManus & Associates and a top AV-rated trusts and estates attorney, was featured in the newsletter and published on wealthmanagement.com here. John’s article, “The New Frontier of Estate Planning,” puts the Generation-Skipping Transfer tax (GST) on the radars of financial advisors, pointing out that estate planning strategies have evolved along with the tax climate and political landscape.
Gerry W. Beyer
A treasure chest of information on estate planning, “Wills, Trusts, and Estates Prof Blog” is a member of the Law Professor Blogs Network sponsored by Wolters Kluwer and written by Texas Tech School of Law Professor Gerry Beyer. Via the go-to outlet, Beyer recently highlighted McManus & Associates’ latest educational conference call, “Top 10 Signposts to Guide Planning for Estates under $10MM.” The discussion sheds light on estate planning strategies that should be considered now following recent changes in federal and state law.
Alexandra Talty
Alexandra Talty, contributor for Forbes who covers personal finance and travel, recently spoke with McManus & Associates Founding Principal John O. McManus for tax tips that she could pass along to her readers. McManus’ thoughts appeared back-to-back in Talty’s two-day series that highlights “some shocking employee deductions as well as hitting some basics for first-time tax filers.”
Talty’s first article, “Surprising Tax Reimbursements for Employees,” addresses the importance of crossing your T’s and dotting your I’s come tax season. As emphasized by McManus in the story:
“Document, document, document with details, details, details. The IRS is looking at it as a smell test,” says John O. McManus, founding principal of McManus & Associates. “The longer you take to respond back to them [if you are audited], the more they think you are contriving or making it up. You have to be very reactive when they are calling on things. This demonstrates that you are always buttoned up.”
McManus advises, “Every year, presume you will be audited, so keep everything.”
Today’s article, Talty’s second day of tax coverage, focused on those “lucky enough to be self-employed or property owners.” Her piece, “Freelancing Tax Write-Offs You Might Be Missing,” offers interesting tips to bear in mind for tax day, such as how to write off cruises and conferences.
An educational vacation is a great way to kill two birds with one stone – but how can you be sure you’re covered if the IRS comes knocking? From McManus:
“I do believe it is essential to keep a copy of the agenda,” advises John O. McManus, founding principal of McManus & Associates. “Then the IRS can connect that it makes sense for you to be on the cruise for that purpose or that you needed to attended the seminar.”
Tax write-offs that help you see the world? Just say, “bon voyage,” pack your bags and go!
To read more helpful hints for self-employed Americans, check out Talty’s story in full here. And for tax planning help that transcends April 15th, give McManus & Associates a call at 908-898-0100.
Have you ever wondered if scheming relatives can steal your life insurance money? Insure.com recently sought out the answer to this very question for readers.
To understand what is often at the heart of inheritance wars – the “mysterious life insurance policy” – Reporter Ed Leefeldt turned to John O. McManus, McManus & Associates’ founding principal and top AV-rated attorney, for help. As recognized by McManus:
“Life insurance is an area where you can get cute, coy and clandestine,” warns John McManus, head of McManus & Associates, a New York City-based firm specializing in trusts and estates.
Leefeldt explains that assets such as homes, cars and furniture may be listed in a will, but others may not. Says McManus, “Life insurance, IRAs and joint bank accounts don’t show up as part of the estate because they’ve already been distributed,” says McManus. From the story:
Money from the life insurance policy is paid directly to the beneficiary, so other family members may not even be aware of a payout. The deceased also could have tucked away a life insurance policy in a trust that no one else knows about, McManus warns.
When it comes to contesting a life insurance beneficiary, the article notes that “it’s tough to prove that mom was bonkers when she signed the policy, especially if an insurance agent was present.” According to McManus:
“Even if the deceased walked around in pajamas talking to Elvis, they may still have had the capacity to understand what they signed,” says McManus. Hiring a psychiatrist could also prove futile, unless the doctor actually knew the patient.
The piece goes on to discuss the lengths to which insurers will go in order to find beneficiaries and why you don’t need to worry about the wrong person being paid. To read expert tips on how to avert family fights over intentions for the payout, check out the full story here.
For questions about how best to utilize life insurance to transfer wealth to loved ones, call us at 908-898-0100 or drop us an email at communications@mcmanuslegal.com.
In case you missed it, Bloomberg BNA in its Weekly Round-Up has a recap of John McManus’ recent article for the publication’s Weekly State Tax Report that provides an in-depth look at several of the estate and gift tax regimes cropping up across states. The story, “Weekly Round-Up: Will More States Climb Aboard the Gift Tax Bandwagon?” conveys that states are exploring strategies to create new revenue by expanding the footprint of taxation. Pointing to advice from McManus, the importance of staying informed about wealth transfer taxes is emphasized.
Previewing McManus’ 2,500-word expert article, the piece briefly outlines the trend with states’ enactment of gift taxes, including Connecticut and Minnesota. Connecticut was the first state to impose a state gift tax on lifetime gifts made to others in 2005 and, in 2011, the state’s governor signed into law a new budget that “dramatically curtailed the ability to make tax-free gifts by reducing the state’s lifetime gift exemption to $2 million and taxing up to 12 percent on aggregate lifetime gifts exceeding that amount.” Effective as of July 1, 2013, Minnesota passed a law that established its own state gift tax with a gifting exemption that is limited to $1 million, in addition to adopting rules subjecting certain nonresidents to estate taxation.
What should be of concern to readers? From the story:
It is a significant concern that other cash-strapped states may follow the lead of Connecticut and Minnesota, McManus says. Those states that do charge an estate or inheritance tax experience diminishing returns when the property and assets that their residents gift during their lifetimes are not a part of the estate upon death. Many politicians view the imposition of a gift tax as a safer revenue-generating innovation, because most of their constituents would be unaffected by such a levy, McManus said.
To read BNA’s Weekly Round Up item, click here. And dig into McManus’ full guest article for the Weekly State Tax Report here.
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