Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York
My wife is a Japanese citizen.As a non US citizen she does not qualify for the unlimited marital exemption from the federal estate tax.
My estate is approx 1.5 mil.Since we reside in NYS I believe that only 1 million is exempted both for US and nonUS citizen.
It is my belief that unless the Congress will change the law the federal estate tax will revert as of Jan 1st 2013 to one million dollars.
Considering the above described situation would it be advisable to establish a QDOT trust
a) if the federal estate tax reverses to 1 mil
b)it will continue to be approx 5 millions
Would my wife be able to become a US citizen following my death to avoid a federal tax(how much time the IRS would allow her to become a citizen?)
What is the approximate
legal fee for QDOT trust?
1 Answer from Attorneys
The NYS exemption its only a million.
It is inappropriate to give advise on your present situation without more details from you. There are many ways to structure the estate to port it from taxes. Also entering into the discussion is the age of you and your spouse'
Please contract an estate and trust attorney to discuss your options. Unfortunately with the new IRS rules on tax advice some attorneys will require an accountant to provide those tax opinions.