Headlines about "Estate planning"

Gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com.
[Guidance Overview] High Court to Hear Arguments on ERISA Beneficiary Designation
Excerpt: "The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Oct. 7 regarding whether a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act trumps a woman's voluntary waiver of her ex-husband's pension benefits, an issue that has divided federal appeals courts and left divorce lawyers unsure how to advise clients." (Texas Lawyer)

[Guidance Overview] Analysis of Oral Argument Transcript in ERISA DuPont Case
Excerpt: "The Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case of Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for DuPont Savings and Investment Plan this afternoon. The case concerns whether a divorcing spouse may waive her rights to spousal pensions benefits without going through the qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) process set out in the exceptions to ERISA's anti-alienation rule. What follows is analysis of that oral argument transcript based on my reading of the oral argument transcript in DuPont . . . ." (Workplace Prof Blog)

High Court to Hear Arguments on ERISA Beneficiary Designation
Excerpt: "The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday regarding whether a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act trumps a woman's voluntary waiver of her ex-husband's pension benefits, an issue that has divided federal appeals courts and left divorce lawyers unsure how to advise clients." (Law.com)

[Guidance Overview] DC Plans, Distributed Annuities, Spousal Consent and QJSAs
Excerpt: "One of the most nagging issues related to distributing annuities from defined contribution plans is how and when to apply the spousal consent and qualified joint and survivor annuity ('QJSA') rules to distributions." (Baker & Daniels)

The Benefits of Beneficiary Reviews
Excerpt: "Your clients' retirement accounts are often their single largest non-real-estate asset. Yet these assets can be at risk because about 80% of beneficiary forms on individual retirement accounts, defined benefit pension plans and insurance policies are either blank, outdated or not properly filled in. Mistakes made when designating beneficiaries can be costly and even tragic because they impair the ability of your clients to protect, preserve and pass on assets to their heirs." (Investment News; free registration required)

[Guidance Overview] Inherited IRAs--Who Gets What?
Excerpt: "In order to be a designated beneficiary, they must be a living, breathing, natural person or a group of natural persons, or a qualifying trust for the benefit of identifiable natural persons. They do not have to be identified by name, although this is usually a good idea. 'All children of this marriage to share equally' will suffice to make each child a designated beneficiary." (Morningstar)

[Guidance Overview] Is Spousal Consent Required If IRA Owner Wants to Name Person Other Than Spouse As Beneficiary?
Excerpt: "In a community/marital property state (CA, NV, AZ, NM, TX, LA, WA, ID, WI) spousal consent is required whenever an IRA owner does not name his/her spouse as sole primary beneficiary. In any other state, state beneficiary laws and/or financial organization policy should be observed." (Wolters Kluwer)

[Guidance Overview] Feuer on a Curious ERISA Case Before the Supreme Court
Excerpt: "Friend of the blog and prominent ERISA practitioner, Albert Feuer, has penned an indispensable commentary for anyone who is following the ERISA Supreme Court case of Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for Dupont Savings and Invest Plan. Kennedy is set to be argued in front of the Supreme Court this October." (Workplace Prof Blog)

[Guidance Overview] Posthumous QDROs
Excerpt: "Over the years a series of cases have held, for various reasons, that a domestic relations order (DRO) assigning benefits to an intended alternate payee could not qualify as a QDRO if the order was entered after the participant's death. Many practitioners concluded that this was the law, although more recent cases have held to the contrary. PPA section 1001 is a wake up call: it is not too late to get a QDRO after the participant has died!" (Chang, Ruthenberg & Long PC)

[Guidance Overview] ERISA Provisions Governing Vesting and Non-Alienability of Surviving Spouse Benefit Rights
Excerpt: "PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Appellant second wife, individually, and in her capacity as personal representative, appealed from the entry of summary judgment for respondent first wife by the Aiken County Circuit Court (South Carolina) in the second wife's suit concerning the proper distribution of the decedent's pension." (South Carolina Slip and Fall Blog)

[Opinion] Follow-up to the 'Beware of Beneficiary Provisions' Blog
Excerpt: "In [Ed Burmeister's blog, he] channels Andy Rooney, pointing out all that is wrong and risky about beneficiary designation provisions in stock incentive plans and ESPPs. Speaking as only someone who has been through these headaches a few times can, Ed's article points out [a] few of the pitfalls in allowing employees too much latitude in the designation of beneficiaries, given the variety of state and foreign laws, and argues compellingly for simplicity." (Michael S. Melbinger via Winston & Strawn LLP)

[Opinion] Beware of Beneficiary Provisions in Equity Plans
Excerpt: "This article was recently posted on CorporateCounsel.net and on the NASPP website. In this posting, Ed Burmeister speaks candidly about equity plans and beneficiary provisions." (Baker & McKenzie LLP)

[Guidance Overview] IRA Beneficiaries Fail to Take Their Respective RMDs - What Options Are Available to Them Now?
Excerpt: "The fact that the beneficiaries failed to take an RMD in 2007 does not change their distribution option. Instead, they are subject to a 50 percent penalty tax on the amount of the RMD not taken in 2007, which they report to the IRS using IRS Form 5329." (Wolters Kluwer)

[Guidance Overview] FAQs on Retirement Plan Beneficiary Issues
Excerpt: "Q. May a pre-nuptial agreement allow the spouse to waive being the beneficiary on a qualified plan?" (McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)

Getting the Most Out of Your Pension
Excerpt: "If you or your spouse is eligible to receive a pension, it will figure prominently in your retirement planning. However, pension laws are complicated, so it is important to learn the facts about your company's pension plan to make sure that you obtain the benefits to which you are entitled." (The Daily Advertiser)

[Guidance Overview] 'Why Do Spouses Have to Be the Automatic Beneficiary of a Retirement Plan?'
Excerpt: "[The Retirement Equity Act of 1984] amended Title I of ERISA to require written consent of both the employee and his or her spouse to waive the survivors' annuity option in a defined benefit plan. Under certain conditions, this rule also applies to defined contribution plans." (National Benefits Services, Inc.)

Divorce Decree Submitted after Participant's Death Is not a QDRO
Excerpt: "The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama ruled that a divorce decree did not meet the requirements a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) because of technical failures and untimely submission to the plan administrator." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

[Opinion] Text of Amicus Brief in re: Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for DuPont Savings and Investment Plan, et al. (PDF)
40 pages. Excerpt: "The rule proposed by Petitioner – under which plan administrators would be required to recognize beneficiary waivers that are not contemplated in the applicable plan documentation – would wreak havoc on plan administration. Petitioner's rule would also impose enormous burdens and costs on plans and their participants and give rise to costly disputes, litigation, and the possibility of double payment of plan benefits." (American Benefits Council)

[Guidance Overview] Beneficiary Designation Form Not Valid When Participant Did Not Sign and Date It
Excerpt: "This case is another cautionary tale: ERISA administrators that fail to have procedures in place (or fail to follow those procedures to ensure that beneficiary designation forms are properly completed, signed, and dated before they are accepted) risk expensive and time-consuming lawsuits . . . ." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)

Unsigned Form Throws Disputed 401(k) Assets to Participant's Son
Excerpt: "A federal judge in Florida has ruled that a deceased 401(k) plan participant's girlfriend is not entitled to half the approximately $450,000 in his account because he did not sign the designation form naming her a partial beneficiary." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

[Guidance Overview] Beneficiaries Naming Beneficiaries - Examples and a New Form, the IRA Successor Beneficiary Form
Excerpt: "May an individual retirement account (IRA) beneficiary name a beneficiary -- a successor to receive any remaining assets upon the beneficiary's death? What are the benefits of doing so?" (Wolters Kluwer)

Workplace the Primary Financial Supermarket for Many
Excerpt: "A MetLife news release about its Annual Employee Benefits Trends Study, said the research found that the workplace has become the dominant starting point for building a strong financial safety net. Growing financial concerns among employees are also creating a greater interest in advice and guidance at the workplace." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

Participant's Former Stepdaughter Should Get 401(k) Distribution, Says Federal Judge
Excerpt: "U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim of the U.S District Court for the District of Minnesota issued the ruling that rejected claims the participant's beneficiary designation should not be honored because the participant was incompetent at the time.Tunheim ruled that stepdaughter Tracy Marks did not exert improper influence over James Marier when he executed the beneficiary designation naming Marks in 2001 and 2002.' (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

Adjusting Retirement Goals and Savings Behavior: The Role of Financial Education (PDF)
Excerpt: "To assist employees of colleges and universities and other nonprofit organizations achieve their retirement goals, TIAA-CREF offers financial education seminars on most college campuses. These voluntary programs offer faculty and staff the opportunity to learn more about the retirement process, income needs in retirement, investment strategies, and basic retirement programs. This paper examines the information contained in these financial education seminars offered by TIAA-CREF associates and assesses how these programs influenced individuals to modify their retirement goals and alter their retirement planning." (TIAA-CREF Institute)

Estate Plan Can Boost Retirement Benefits
Excerpt: "There are four general principles concerning the use of retirement benefits in an estate plan. The first . . . is that the younger the named designated beneficiary of your IRA, the greater the lifetime benefit. We saw that a $100,000 share of an IRA can result in over $1 million in lifetime benefits if the beneficiary is a grandchild, rather than your child." (news-press.com)

[Guidance Overview] Rollovers to Nonspouse Beneficiaries Are Back With Passage of H.R. 3361 - For 2009 not 2008
Excerpt: "For rollovers to nonspouse beneficiaries, the passage of H.R. 3361 has significant impact because of the IRS' position on rollovers to nonspouse beneficiaries." (Pension Protection Act Blog)

[Guidance Overview] Surviving Spouse Plan Requirements Cannot be Changed by Oral Representation
Excerpt: "The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling that a pension plan administrator was correct in denying surviving spouse benefits to a widow not legally married to the deceased participant at the time of his retirement." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

[Guidance Overview] Eliminating the HIPAA Catch-22 in Clients' Estate Plans
Excerpt: "One major problem created by HIPAA is its impact on planning for incapacity. Most clients have estate plans that provide for someone else to manage their affairs or make health-care decisions for them if they are unable to do so themselves. This would include their successor trustees of revocable or irrevocable trusts, agents under any financial powers of attorney or medical powers of attorney. A common structure is for these powers to spring into effect upon the incapacity of the individual, as determined by a physician's certification. Unfortunately, your physician might consider making such a certification of incapacity to be a prohibited disclosure of private medical information." (Morningstar)

Supreme Court to Decide Issue of Ex-Spouse Waiver of Benefits
Excerpt: "The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case in which the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) as provided for in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) is the only valid way a divorced spouse can waive his or her right to the ex-spouse's pension benefits." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

Save the Date: Financial Advice Free for One Day -- January 25, 2008
Excerpt: "During Jump-Start Days, their expertise is free. Call (888) 919-2345 or log on to www .kiplinger.com/your retirement/jumpstart to participate in an online discussion with an adviser." (Courier-Post)

Pre-Nup Pact Not an ERISA Benefits Waiver
Excerpt: "Because a 401(k) participant's widow had not yet married her husband when she signed a prenuptial agreement giving up her rights to her husband's retirement benefits, the widow was still entitled to the money." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

Overview: Firms Must Allow Non-Spouse Beneficiaries to Transfer Retirement Plan Funds Directly to Inherited IRA
Excerpt: "The Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA 2006) included a provision that would permit the non-spouse beneficiaries of company retirement plans to do direct transfers from the plans to properly titled inherited IRAs. This provision allows these beneficiaries to take stretch distributions over their lifetimes, instead of being subject to the harsh payout rules of most company plans. Originally the IRS said this provision, effective in 2007, was not mandatory for plans, but the agency has changed its position and made the provision mandatory beginning in 2008." (Financial Planning and SourceMedia, Inc.)

The National Financial Education Network Database Web Site
Excerpt: "{The] site was developed by the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators (NAGDCA) in consultation with the Financial Literacy and Education Commission's National Financial Education Network (Network). The Web site is comprised of materials submitted by the members of the Network to provide resources on financial literacy to the general public. . . . The database provides links to resources which are hosted on other organization's Web sites." (U.S. Financial Literacy and Education Commission)

Widow Gets Retirement Assets When Plan Beneficiary Designation Form Not Signed
Excerpt: "Because the wife of a law firm employee never executed documents waiving her claim to her husband's retirement plan savings, she should now receive those funds, a federal appellate court has ruled. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided that Debbie Sandler should be awarded the retirement plan assets even though she and husband David had signed a prenuptial agreement in which she gave up rights to the money." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

Analysis: Asset Protection in Oregon Using Trusts, Retirement Accounts
Excerpt: "This outline covers the uses and limits of trusts, retirement accounts and 529 plans to shield assets from creditors in Oregon." (Jonathan A. Levy)

History, Present Law, and Analysis of the Federal Wealth Transfer Tax System (PDF)
50 pages. Excerpt: "The Committee on Finance has scheduled a public hearing for November 14, 2007, entitled 'Federal Estate Tax: Uncertainty in Planning Under the Current Law.' This document provides a history, description, and analysis of the Federal estate and gift tax rules. The overview presents data about the estate and gift tax, a brief discussion of possible economic effects of the tax, and a short summary of present law estate and gift tax rules." (U.S. Joint Committee on Taxation)

How to Handle Beneficiary Designations: Tips for Ensuring Your Assets Flow to the Right People
Excerpt: "The decision about how to designate beneficiaries for your company retirement plan, life insurance policies, and other assets might seem like a no-brainer. Chances are you would like those near and dear to you to inherit any money you've accumulated during your lifetime, so making sure that happens should be as simple as writing their names on the appropriate forms, right?" (Morningstar)

Pass That Retirement Plan Money on to Heirs -- Several Red Flags to Watch For
Excerpt: "Practitioners need to be aware of some points that were overlooked or mischaracterized by many commentators. First, it is not really a rollover like a spouse can do. Rather, it is a transfer from one account to another that must remain titled in the name of the decedent. In January 2007, the IRS issued Notice 2007-07, stating that the account should be titled as 'Tom Smith as beneficiary of John Smith.' With a spousal rollover, title is in the name of the spouse, as if she had owned it all along." (Financial Advisor)

Retirement Accounts and the 5 Biggest Estate Tax Mistakes
Excerpt: "A will doesn't control one of a client's most significant assets -- retirement accounts. Instead, a veritable jungle of IRS regulations determine what your clients' beneficiaries will actually pocket from your clients' retirement accounts and when. The regulations are typically far too complex for clients to navigate on their own -- and even experienced financial advisors can overlook some of their subtleties. As a result, beneficiaries may get saddled with huge tax bills that could have been avoided." (On Wall Street)

The Battle to Extend IRA Donations
Excerpt: "Will tax breaks for donating IRA distributions to charity have a future? Many charitable organizations and congressional leaders are now asking that question, as a provision of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 sunsets on December 31." (On Wall Street)

New Beneficiary Notice Requirements – How Does This Affect Your Planning? (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "Prompted by an executor's alleged misappropriation of funds from several estates, the Texas Legislature recently adopted a requirement that beneficiaries receive notice that a Will has been probated. Previously, only charities and governmental entities were required to receive notice. Now, new Section 128A of the Probate Code directors an executor to notify all Will beneficiaries and, in some cases, Living Trust beneficiaries." (Haynes and Boone, LLP)

Definition of Spouse Overview Updated October 5, 2007
Excerpt: "What happens when a state law permitting same-sex marriages conflicts with the Federal Defense of Marriage Act?" (McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)

Overview: Nonspouse Beneficiary Rollover Document Change
Excerpt: "[I]n 2008, the IRS states that the PPA nonspouse beneficiary rollover rules will be required in the operation of qualified plans; and in 2009, it will be part of the required provisions to be included in the PPA plan document amendment." (McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)

Overview of Guidance on Missing Participant -- PPA Updates Added on October 5, 2007
Excerpt: "In February 2007, the DOL amended the . . . rules for terminating plans to add the PPA provision for an inherited nonspouse beneficiary IRA, that requires the establishment of an inherited IRA for a missing beneficiary of a deceased participant." (McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)

Estate Planning for Same-Sex and Unmarried Couples
Excerpt: "By planning ahead, same-sex and unmarried couples can protect their assets and employ a tax-efficient transfer of wealth, especially with the help of permanent life insurance policies and the careful creation of an irrevocable trust." (The National Underwriter Company; free registration or paid subscription required)

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