This document discusses estate planning essentials and strategies for 2020 and beyond. It outlines common estate planning mistakes like relying only on simple wills or joint accounts instead of proper planning. Key documents like powers of attorney, health care proxies, wills and revocable trusts are discussed. The benefits of revocable and irrevocable trusts are summarized. Estate and gift tax rules are reviewed for federal and Massachusetts law. Strategies for lifetime gifting, charitable giving, and planning for retirement accounts after the SECURE Act are provided. Recent impacts of the CARES Act on required minimum distributions are also covered.

1. Estate Planning
in 2020 and BeyondRachel Ziegler
Ziegler Legal Services LLC
(781) 328-9212
rachel@zieglerlegalservices.com
www.zieglerlegalservices.com

2. Estate Planning Essentials
Mistakes and Misconceptions
• Simple Will only.
• Joint titling, Pay on Death (POD), or Transfer
on Death (TOD) accounts in lieu of an estate
plan.
• Assuming children will “take care of it”.
• Leaving out the children of the first marriage
when planning with a second spouse.
• No planning for state estate taxes.
• Wrong beneficiaries of retirement accounts.
Planning Documents
• Durable Power of Attorney
• Health Care Proxy
• Living Will (may include end-of-life
instructions and organ donation wishes)
• HIPAA Authorization
• Will
• Revocable Trust

3. Trusts
Revocable Trusts
(aka intervivos or living trusts)
• Avoid probate
• Estate tax planning for married couples in
Massachusetts
• Coordinate and facilitate asset disposition
after death
• Hold assets for beneficiaries for years or for
life
• Donor controls during his/her lifetime
• Can be managed for Donor by Trustee during
incapacity
• Simplifies estate administration
Irrevocable Trusts
• Estate tax savings
• Creditor protection
• May own life insurance policies
• May receive and own gifts for children and/or
grandchildren

4. Estate Taxes 101
Federal
• Law changed by Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,
December 2017
• Estate tax exemption is $11.58M
• Tax rate is 40%
• Exemption is “portable”
• TCJA sunsets in 2025, and exemption falls
back to $5M (adjusted for inflation)
• Estate tax exemption is reduced by lifetime
taxable gifts (“unified credit”)
Massachusetts
• Not affected by TCJA
• Estate tax exemption is $1M
• Tax rate is variable, up to 16%, depending
upon size of estate
• $1M is a threshold for filing (not a true
exemption)
• Exemption is not portable
• *NY exemption is $5.85M.
• *CT exemption is $5.1M. CT has a gift tax.

5. What you need to know about Estate Taxes
• Estates taxes can be significant. Good planning is worth it.
• Federal estate taxes now impact a small number of estates. But that
may change!
• Planning for state estate taxes is important. Don’t neglect it!
• Simple Wills are not good planning for estate taxes in Massachusetts.
• If you live in Massachusetts, married, with assets >$1M, you should
have Revocable Trusts with estate tax planning to minimize
Massachusetts estate taxes. This is a very common planning strategy.

6. Strategy for Planning: Revocable Trusts with
Estate Tax planning
Trusts should be designed to:
• Make use of both spouse’s exemptions to minimize overall estate taxes due at the
second death.
• Make use of marital deduction to defer all estate taxes until the death of the
surviving spouse.
• Marital deduction is unlimited, for U.S. citizens.
Documents should be flexible, to accommodate future changes in the
law and exemption amounts.

7. Strategy for Planning: Lifetime Gifting
• Annual exclusion gifts (up to
$15K per donor, per year)
• Medical/education exclusion
• Pay tuition directly!
• “Taxable” gifts. Gifts in
excess of the annual
exclusion. Use exemption,
but don’t pay gift taxes.
• How to make gifts?
• Outright (directly to the
beneficiary)
• In trust (held for his or her
benefit)
Why make gifts to an Irrevocable
Trust, instead of outright?
• Beneficiary is a minor, disabled,
or spendthrift.
• Protect assets from beneficiary’s
creditors.
• Protect assets if the beneficiary
divorces.
• Asset management for the
beneficiary.
• Ensure assets pass to future
generations as you wish.
• Estate tax savings for future
generations.
Worried you might need the
money? Consider these
alternatives.
• Make annual exclusion
gifts each year, as long as
you can.
• Spousal Lifetime Access
Trusts (SLATs)
• Gifting at end of life
(“deathbed” gifts)

8. Strategy for Planning: Charitable Giving
Charitable Giving during Lifetime
• Cash
• Appreciated/low basis marketable securities
• Donor Advised Fund
• Qualified Charitable Distribution to public
charities from IRAs
Charitable Giving at Death
• Give to named charit(ies) or charities in
general
• Donor Advised Fund
• Name charity as beneficiary of retirement
account
Charitable Remainder Trust
• Annuity paid to individual beneficiary,
remainder to charity.
• Use to sell appreciated asset, avoid gain
recognition on sale.
Charitable Lead Trust
• Annuity paid to charity, remainder to
individual beneficiary.

9. Recent Update – SECURE Act
• Passed December 19, 2019. Pre-COVID.
• Eliminated the “Stretch IRA” for many beneficiaries.
• New rule requires all assets to be withdrawn within 10 years of owner’s death.
• May be huge income tax consequences.
• 3 types of beneficiaries:
• “Eligible Designated Beneficiaries”
• Still eligible for lifetime payout.
• Who are EDBs? (i) Surviving spouse; (ii) Disabled or chronically ill beneficiary; (iii) Minor child
of owner (not minor grandchild!); (iv) Beneficiary less than 10 years younger than the owner
(e.g., a sibling).
• Conduit/see through trust for an EDB also eligible for lifetime payout.
• “Designated Beneficiaries” – everyone else – get 10 year payout.
• “Non-Designated Beneficiaries” (estates and non-qualifying trusts) get 5 year payout.

10. Planning and Strategies – SECURE Act
• Don’t leave your retirement account to a non-designated beneficiary (your estate or non-
qualifying trust).
• If Trust is the beneficiary, make sure it qualifies. It may need an update.
• Be careful with accumulation trusts or trusts for multiple beneficiaries.
• Leave retirement accounts to EDBs, and other assets to DBs.
• Consider a Roth conversion.
• Leave your retirement account to charity or to a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT).
• Increased the age at which RMDs are required to age 72.
• Eliminated age limit on deductible IRA contributions.
• Qualified charitable distributions from IRAs (up to $100,000) are still permitted if over
70½, but are reduced by contributions after age 70 ½.

11. Recent Update – CARES Act
• Passed March 27, 2020 to provide COVID related assistance to
individuals and businesses.
• Waived required minimum distributions (RMDs) from retirement
plans for 2020 (and for 2019 if not taken before January 1).
• Allowed 2020 RMDs already taken to be returned, by August 31.
• Allowed penalty free distributions or loans from retirement accounts
in some cases.

12. Estate Planning
in 2020 and Beyond
Q&A