Franklin County has gotten some information on the exemption up on the Auditor’s website. Joe Testa kindly offers the following:
July 2, 2007
Dear Homeowner:
House Bill 119 (effective July 1, 2007) provides for an expanded homestead exemption. It eliminates the income eligibility criteria, thereby making the exemption available to all homeowners who:
Are at least 65 years old during 2007; or
Are totally and permanently disabled as of January 1, 2007 as certified by a licensed physician or psychologist, or a state or federal agency; or
Are the surviving spouse of a person who was receiving the previous Homestead Exemption at the time of death and where the surviving spouse was at least 59 years old on the date of death; and
Own and occupy the home as their principal place of residence as of Jan. 1, 2007 for real property, or Jan. 1, 2008 for manufactured homes.
The bill also changes the manner in which the homestead tax reduction is calculated. A senior or disabled homeowner will now be entitled to a tax reduction the equivalent of the net amount of taxes due on $25,000 of the market value of their home. For example, an eligible owner of a home valued at $100,000 will now be billed as if the home were valued at $75,000.
Those individuals who were not previously qualified may now apply for the homestead exemption during an extended application period beginning July 2, 2007 and ending October 1, 2007. The credit will appear on their 2007 real estate tax bill, payable in 2008. Qualified individuals may complete an application online, print out the form, sign, and mail to: Franklin County Auditor’s Office, Homestead Section, 373 S. High St. , 21st Floor, Columbus, OH 43215-6310.
**For those homeowners who currently receive the homestead exemption, please be advised that this reduction is not in addition to the reduction already received; it is in lieu of the current reduction. The reduction for current recipients will equal the greater of:
the reduction granted for tax year 2006; OR
the net tax due on $25,000 of the market value of their home.
Therefore, current homestead recipients do not need to apply for the expanded program. It will automatically be applied, if applicable.
Click here for an application.
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In my last post I talked about Ohio’ newly revised homestead exemption. Hillary provided an update today regarding when an applicant is eligible for the exemption when their home is owned by a trust or when the applicant merely owns a life estate:
If a residence is held in a revocable trust, the resident should be eligible for the exemption.
If a resident owns a life estate grated by a deed, the resident will be eligible for the homestead exemption.
However, if the residence is owned by an irrevocable trust, the resident is not eligible for the homestead exemption under Ohio law, according to the Summit County Treasurer’s office.
The actual tax savings attained by the homestead exemption varies according to where the residence is located, but is generally around $500 per year.
Thanks Hillary!
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Thanks to Hilliary Taylor in BDB’s Cleveland office for the below reminder:
Effective June 27, 2007 the real property tax homestead exemption in Ohio is available to all senior citizens age 65 and older, or totally disabled people, regardless of income. The deadline for new applications is October 1, 2007.
The Homestead Exemption is available to homeowners who are 65 years or older or totally disabled under the age of 65. Surviving spouse of a qualified homeowner who was at least 59 years old on the date of their spouse’s death is also eligible. You must be the owner of the home or manufactured home and it must be your primary residence on January 1 for the tax year you apply.
With the passage of House Bill 119 on June 27, 2007 the State Legislature has expanded the homestead relief program, a reduction in property taxes, for senior citizens. The income limits under the former homestead program have been eliminated.
Under the new program every senior citizen or permanently disabled homeowner will receive an exemption of $25,000 on the market value of their home from property taxes, regardless of their income.
Applicants can apply for Homestead Exemption in the year they turn 65 as long as they own and occupy the house as of January 1 of the year they file.
Click here for more information from Summit County and for the application itself.
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Trusts aren’t just for those with many millions of dollars who want to create a funded legacy for their great-grandchildren – far from it!
(Spoiler warning) In the film, a chef and owner of one of Paris’ most popular restaurants leaves the restaurant to his assistant (sous chef) unless an heir is discovered within 2 years of his death in which case it would pass to the newly discovered heir. Obviously the assistant has no incentive to search for such an heir and, were one to be accidentally discovered, would have every incentive to wait for the time period given in the will to expire. Had Mr. Gusteau (the decedent) left his restaurant to a trust, his Trustee (who would hopefully be a disinterested individual) would have been responsible for running the business during the contingency period and passing it to the assistant only thereafter.
The movie would not have been as much fun but when it comes to your property and your family, drama is not what a responsible estate plan is seeking.
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The New York Times today ran a great piece on how disturbingly easy it can be to get “credentialed” in a way that makes one sound like an expert in financial planning, when really all they’ve done is sat through a three-day course and took a test with questions like “Marketing can best be described as:â€
“There are limitless combinations of words getting invented to convey an expertise in senior finances,†said the Massachusetts securities regulator, William F. Galvin. “Most of them seem designed to trick seniors into listening to swindlers.â€
[There are] tens of thousands of financial advisers working hand-in-hand with insurance companies to market themselves to older Americans using impressive-sounding credentials like Certified Elder Planning Specialist, Registered Financial Gerontologist, Certified Retirement Financial Adviser and Certified Senior Adviser.
Many of these titles can be earned in just a few days from for-profit businesses, and sound similar to established credentials, like Certified Financial Planner, that require years of study, difficult tests and extensive background checks.
And when they’re out they start selling the same ill-advised junk: Variable and deferred annuities to elder clients on fixed incomes. Almost always a bad idea.
Know your adviser!
And know how and why he or she is able to serve in that very important capacity. A few questions can save you and you heirs a lot of money, time and trouble.
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From The California Tax Attorney Blog come the Top Ten Estate Planning Mistakes and its a great list:
1. Failure to Make Gifts to Reduce Estate Taxes. Easy gifting options include the $12,000 annual exclusion, $1,000,000 lifetime gift exemption, and unlimited tuition/medical gifts. In a 45% estate tax bracket, each $12,000 gift saves $5,400 in estate tax.
2. Failing to Protect a Child’s Inheritance. A child’s inheritance that passes outright to the child is not protected from creditors, divorce, or estate tax at the child’s death. To protect the inheritance, it may be better to leave assets in trust for such child’s benefit. If desired, the child can be named as the co-trustee of the trust along with a third party.
3. Failure to Pursue Sophisticated Estate Planning Tools. Explore techniques to reduce estate taxes and/or protect assets. Consider the family limited partnership, charitable trusts, qualified personal residence trust, and sale of assets to children.
4. Wasting $2,000,000 Exemption When First Spouse Dies. The $2,000,000 exemption is wasted when assets are left outright to the surviving spouse. Instead, the Will should create a bypass trust to be funded with $2,000,000 of the decedent’s assets, saving up to $900,000 of estate taxes (assuming a 45% estate tax rate). WARNING: Naming the spouse as beneficiary of life insurance/retirement plans prevents such assets from going into the bypass trust. Also, if the house goes outright to the survivor, the decedent’s portion cannot be used if needed to fully fund the bypass trust. The impact on the overall plan should be considered before making such a bequest.
Continue reading the original post here. Thanks Mitchell!
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Anyone who has spent anytime online has more than a few passwords in regular rotation. And with Firefox and IE remembering our passwords for us, many of us also can’t recall half of them. That’s why its becoming increasingly important to keep your passwords in a safe place. I can’t think of a better place than with your wills, trusts and powers of attorney.
My Aunt Susan has a list that she keeps in a place that she recently showed me and I now include her simple example in advice to all of my clients.
Thats why I was so interested in Professor Beyer’s recent post on the email “policies of the most popular e-mail providers” regarding how to access a decedent’s email account.
Google Gmail — requires death certificate, a document giving authority such as a power of attorney, and the full header of the email.
Microsoft’s Hotmail & AOL — will provide e-mail on CD to next of kin
Yahoo — requires a court order before it will release email
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