estate ??? regarding acctg for assets

[schirallicpa]

If the deceased had set up a beneficiary who would immediately take Ameriprise stock assets upon her death, then should those stock assets be included in her estate?  

[jklcpa]

16 minutes ago, schirallicpa said:

If the deceased had set up a beneficiary who would immediately take Ameriprise stock assets upon her death, then should those stock assets be included in her estate?  

How was the account titled?  If it is TOD, those are non-probate assets and not included in the estate.

[schirallicpa]

she had actually inherited it from her aunt.

 

The account is labeled "Jane Smith TOD", then her address.  But it does not have her brother's name on it, who inherited it from her.

 

[jklcpa]

That sounds right.  The TOD label indicates that there is a named beneficiary(ies) on Jane Smith's account that will pass to those beneficiaries, it bypasses the will, and  is outside of probate, but the beneficiaries aren't shown on the account statement. 

 

[schirallicpa]

I have a feeling the attorney included them for personal reasons (aka: his fee)

 

[schirallicpa]

And when I call him out on it - I won't get any more work from him.

 

[OldJack]

There are 3 things to consider:

1. Is the asset included in the deceased estate for estate tax (706) purposes.

2. Is the asset included in the deceased fiduciary (1041) or personal (1040) income tax return.

3. Is the asset included for probate court distribution of assets.

 

[DANRVAN]

6 hours ago, schirallicpa said:

If the deceased had set up a beneficiary who would immediately take Ameriprise stock assets upon her death, then should those stock assets be included in her estate?  

As Old Jack indicated, that is a wide open question.  The TOD stock would be included in the estate for 706 purposes.

 

[schirallicpa]

got it sorted out.  thanks for your input!