[WSBAPT] Durapble Power of Attorney and authority to gift

[Lovie Bernardi]

Estate planning client is single woman in her mid-sixties with two adult
children in their mid-thirties. Will leaves the estate equally between
the kids; there are no grandchildren. Her estate currently is over the
Washington estate tax threshold by about $700,000. Her wealth is mainly
tied up in her home, worth about $2 million.  She has health issues that
will likely lead to needing long term care and plans to use her assets
to fund this. Because of this, she does not wish to do any gifting to
the children now to reduce her estate below the threshold, but may wish
to do so in the future. Has anyone included the power to gift assets in
a DPA for the purpose of reducing a taxable estate? I'm imagining a
scenario where she is at the end of her life, incapacitated, but has not
spent down her assets. It is feasible (or advisable) to grant the
attorney-in-fact (the son) the power to make equal gifts to himself and
his sister, enough to reduce the estate below the Washington estate tax
threshold? Thoughts or other ideas to avoid the taxman down the road?

 

Lovie Bernardi

Attorney at Law

Seligmann & Flaherty, PLLC

216 First AVE S, #450

Seattle, WA  98104

(206) 682-2616

 

lovie at sbfirm.com <mailto:joni at sbfirm.com> 

http://sbfirm.com <http://sbfirm.com/> 

 

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