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U.S. Treasury Bonds
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Maturity
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Yield
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Last
Week
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Last
Month
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5 Year
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2.94 |
3.11
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3.44
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10 Year
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4.05
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4.21
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4.45
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30 Year
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4.97
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5.12
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5.21
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Treasury Market Summary:
Treasuries are weaker in early trading this
morning, following six straight weeks of
declining yields on the ten-year note.
Presently, the ten-year note is down 9/32nd's
in price, to yield 4.04%. Pretty much
the entire curve was trading with a whole
new handle on Friday, with three-year
notes inching below 2%; 5's below
3%; 10's making a brief appearance
below 4%; and 30's moving below 5%.
With a moderately heavy economic calendar
on tap for this week, yields flirting with
4% on the ten-year might be making some
nervous. Today's calendar comprises
only the August personal income and consumption
report, which is scheduled to be released
@ 08:30 ET; other highlights of this
week's calendar include tomorrow's Chicago
PMI report, the ISM report on Wednesday,
weekly jobless claims on Thursday, and the
September employment report on Friday.
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Economic Indicators for this week that could
impact the mortgage or real estate markets
include...
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Drawbacks
of a
Life Estate Trust
|
Before creating a living trust with
marital life estate, couples should
understand what they're getting
into. Once one spouse dies, a
marital life estate trust cannot
be changed. Possible drawbacks
of a marital life estate trust
include:
Restrictions on the surviving
spouse's use of the property.
As discussed above, the surviving
spouse has only limited rights
to use trust property in the marital
life estate trust.
Expense of legal or accounting
help. When one spouse
dies, the survivor may need to
hire a lawyer or accountant to
determine how to best divide the
couple's assets between the irrevocable
marital life estate trust and
the surviving spouse's revocable
living trust. How the property
is divided can have important
tax consequences.
Trust tax returns.
The surviving spouse must get
a taxpayer ID number for the marital
life estate trust and file an
annual trust income tax return.
This isn't a big deal, but like
any tax return, it requires some
work.
Recordkeeping.
The surviving spouse must keep
separate records for the marital
life estate trust property.
Given these disadvantages, it's
obvious that not all married couples
with a combined estate over the
estate tax threshold should use
a life estate trust. It's generally
not advisable, at least not without
the advice of an experienced estate
planning lawyer, for many couples
under 60. People in this age group
don't want assets to be tied up
in a trust if one spouse dies
unexpectedly.
Commonly, younger couples create
a basic shared living trust. When
they're older -- say in their
later 50s or 60s -- they revoke
it and create a living trust with
marital life estate. And if one
spouse unexpectedly dies soon,
the survivor will inherit everything
free of estate tax, no matter
what the amount. The surviving
spouse will probably have years
to use the money -- and to find
other methods of reducing eventual
estate tax.
Other couples who may not need
a life estate trust include:
Couples where one spouse
is considerably younger than the
other. There's no need
to burden the second spouse with
a trust designed to save estate
taxes when he or she is likely
to live for many years.
Many couples in second
or subsequent marriages.
There may be concern about conflicts
between the surviving spouse and
the deceased spouse's children,
who must essentially share ownership
of property for many years.
Despite its possible drawbacks,
a living trust with marital life
estate does work very well for
many families. Many older couples
conclude that the relatively minor
hassles are outweighed by the
benefits.
The purpose of this newsletter
is to stimulate thought for our
clients and those professionals
we network with. One should consult
with a qualified insurance professional
prior to implementing any insurance
strategies. If you are a
financial planning, an Insurance
professional, Real Estate Agent,
a CPA, Mortgage, professional
or legal professional receiving
this newsletter or know of one,
please contact our office to introduce
yourself and your services to
us. We are always seeking
to grow our referral network and
expose professional services to
our client base.
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