1. TEN ESTATE PLANNING IDEAS for 2015
By Robert LeChevallier
Estate planning is a necessary part of life that many people choose to put off until they are older, but
Rob Le Chevallier, an estate planning attorney at Buckley Law in Oregon, offers 10 great ideas for
ensuring that you get your affairs in order and provide for your loved ones:
1. Name the spouse the primarybeneficiaryof the IRA or 401k and the childrencontingent
beneficiaries. If the childrenare minorsname aUTMA account as the contingentbeneficiary
rather thana trustto avoidtrappingthe income inthe trust at 35% tax rates. Anotheroptionis
to fund a conduitor “see through”trust ratherthan an accumulationtrust.
2. ConsiderusingaTrusteedIRA (insteadof acustodial IRA) forspendthriftorfor beneficiariesthat
have alcohol or drugissues. A numberof the banks andtrust companies now offerthese plans
at higherrates.
3. The IRS is alsoproposingtoeliminatestretch IRA’sandrequire distributionsover5yearsinstead
of the beneficiaries’life expectancy. Considerconvertingpartof yourIRA to a Roth if there is
gong to be a longterm payoutto a beneficiary.
4. If you are charitablyinclinemake yourgiftoutof an IRA or 401k. The charitypaysno income tax
and doesnothave to waituntil the estate or trustis settled.
5. Opena 529 college savingplanforgrandchildren. Oregonprovidesastate income tax
deductionforupto $4500 percouple. You can giftup to $14,000 a year withoutfilingagifttax
return. Most planspermitgiftsupto $300,000 per beneficiary andwe have 50 state plans.
6. Considerleavingagiftto yourgrandchildrentopayoff theirschool loans. The average college
studentiscomingoutwith $25k to 30k of debtbefore incurringhuge debtforgraduate or
professionalschools.
7. If you have no grandchildrenyet,frontloada529 planfor a child.It’sout of your estate and
theycan laterchange the beneficiarytotheirchildren.The childistreatedasmakingthe giftto
the grandchildrenbut …heck,theyhave a$5.43 millionexemptionandthere isnogifttax in
Oregon. The income comesouttax free if usedforcollege.
8. If your estate isover$1.0 million(includinglife insurance) fundastate creditsheltertrust(upto
$1 million) onthe firstdeathto avoidwastingyourstate estate tax exemptionand tominimize
Oregonestate tax. However,see #10 below. Youhave to runthe numbers
9. If you have a businessorreal estate holdings,considermakingagiftof a minorityinterestin
stock or LLC intereststoyourchildrenthissummer. Treasuryislikelytopropose new rules
(under2704(b)) eliminatingdiscountsforfamilyownedentitiesthisfall.There maybe an
exceptionforoperatingbusinesses.
10. Pay attentiontoincome taxesandmaximizingthe step-upinbasisonthe deathof the surviving
spouse. The capital gainstax can be as much as 32.8% forOregonresidents versusamaximum
of 16% for Oregonestate tax. If the survivingspouse lives5yearsor more andthe survivors
estate grow 3 to 4% a year youwill paymore incapital gainstax theninstate estate tax when

2. the assetis liquidated. Payattentiontothe income andestate taxeswhereyourheirslive.
Californiahasnoestate tax but overa 13% maximumincome tax! Washingtonhasnoincome
tax butthe maximumestate tax is19%.
If you have estate planning questions and need legal assistance, please contact Mr. Le
Chevallier or another one of our estate planning attorneys at info@buckley-law.com.
Rob Le Chevallier practices business law, business formation, estate
planning, trust administration, real estate law, corporate financing, and
securities law. He particularly focuses on the estate planning needs of
business owners and other high net-worth individuals and their families,
who are often so preoccupied with their business that they neglect their
own succession issues.