On February 21, 2022, the Virginia General Assembly completed passage of HB 370 which adopts the Uniform Fiduciary Income and Principal Act.  Both the House of Delegates and the Senate unanimously adopted the legislation.  The new legislation replaces Virginia’s previous version of the Principal and Income Act and, notably, expands the ability to convert a trust that permits or requires distributions of net income to a “unitrust” in which net income is determined based on a percentage of the fair market value of the trust assets.  Under current law, the unitrust percentage must be between 3% and 5%.  The new law retains that range for trusts that qualify for a “special tax benefit” (like the estate tax marital deduction) but does not restrict trustees and beneficiaries to the 3-5% range for other trusts.  If signed by the Governor, the new law would take effect on July 1, 2022.

02/15/2022

Co-Executors Removed

In Galiotos v. Galiotos, the Supreme Court of Virginia held that the trial court properly removed two brothers as co-executors…

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02/18/2022

New Retention Policy for Estate Tax Returns

The IRS recently announced that effective February 11, 2022, it will no longer keep estate tax returns for 75 years…

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02/20/2022

Gift to Spouse Recharacterized

In Smaldino v. Commissioner, the Tax Court ruled that a husband’s transfer of a 41% membership interest in a limited…

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