Most of the publicity in the news concerning changes to New Jersey’s “death tax” has focused on its raising of the estate tax thresholds. Now, if a person dies and has less than two million dollars in his or her estate, there will be no estate tax regardless of who is receiving that bounty. Not so for the Transfer Inheritance tax, which is based on the relationship of the recipient to the deceased person. Inheritance by a lineal ancestor or descendant — parent, child, grandchild, even a step-child — incurs no inheritance tax. Same goes for inheritance by the spouse. All of these people are considered to be “Class A Beneficiaries.” However, tax will be imposed to some extent on inheritance by others — brothers & sisters (“Class C”), nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, aunts, uncles, and even the grandchildren of step-children (“Class D”). This means that careful planning must be done.
To avoid delays in estate administration, the executor may need cash to pay the inheritance tax when some of the folks inheriting under a Will or through a non-probate arrangement such as a Pay on Death account are not Class A beneficiaries. If all of the assets are tied up in a non-probate format [either/or accounts, joint accounts, pay on death, or other beneficiary designations) this will cause obvious problems. Delay in payment of tax can cause interest and penalties to accrue. The recipient of the “joint” account may not cooperate to provide cash to the estate for the tax.
If the non-Class A recipient is receiving his/her inheritance pursuant to the Will, the Will should specify whether the tax is to be drawn out of that bequest or should be just rolled into the taxes and expenses that are paid from the residue of the estate. Precise drafting of the Will is so important, so that the intentions of the deceased are known. We always say that “careful planning can prevent a crisis,” and careful drafting can avoid time, expense, and battles when it comes to estate administration.
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