I represent a client in a probate estate in Shawnee County, Kansas wherein the decedent died with a last will and testament and there is litigation regarding the clarity or ambiguity of the language in the will. The decedent had 3 children and 2 step-children. The will named the step-daughter as the personal representative (aka executor) of the estate. Additionally, the will provided for a few specific gifts of tangible personal property. ...

I recently assisted a client who is a real estate agent and an extended family member of a deceased individual who owned undeveloped lots in Hickory County, Missouri. The decedent was a resident of Miami County, Kansas at the time of his death. My client hired an attorney to file a petition for determination of decent in the Miami County Probate Court. The petition complied with the Kansas Probate Code, listing the decedent’s...

Annual Gift Tax Exclusion Amount increases to $16,000 per donor per donee Estate Tax (Death Tax) Exemption Amount increases to $12,060,00.00 Child Tax Credit reverts back to 2020 and prior rules. The last advanced child tax credit checks the IRS sent to taxpayers in the last half 0f 2021 were issued on January 15, 2022. There will be no more advanced child tax credit checks. The credit drops back to $2,000 per child under 17 years of...

The recently enacted COVID-19 stimulus package, the CARES Act, not surprisingly included temporary changes to the tax code related to waiving the 10% penalty on qualifying distributions from retirement accounts for those under 59 1/2 years. Additionally, the CARES Act waives the requirement that individuals take an RMD distribution from their retirement accounts during 2020. Finally, the CARES Act provided temporary changes to loans you can...

As of March 20, 2020, the State of Kansas and the State of Missouri are still requiring that individual income tax returns (1040s) and business tax returns with a filing due date of 4/15 be filed on or before April 15, 2020. Therefore, you still need to have your tax returns prepared and ready to file on 4/15. If you choose, you may sit on the IRS 1040 and not file it or make your payment to the United States Treasury until July 15, 2020.

Kansas and Missouri Revocable Trusts What is a trust? A trust, often times known as either a “revocable trust”, a “living trust” (because your trust is created during your lifetime), or an “inter vivos trust” is an arrangement spelled out in a trust document wherein a person creates a trust, the creator often known as a “grantor” or a “settlor”, and then the creator of the trust transfers assets into the trust to be...