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December 10, 2025 • 16 mins
Todd Lutsky shares when he believes it is time to update your estate plan, how taxes work on irrevocable trusts, and understanding marital deductions.
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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is Ask Todd on the Financial Exchange Radio Network.
If you have an existing estate plan or in the
market for one, Todd Lutsky is here to answer your
questions and help you plan for a later life. Ask
Todd is presented by Cushing and Dolan, serving Massachusetts and
New England for more than thirty five years, helping families
with a state and tax planning, Medicaid planning, and probate law.

(00:22):
Visit Cushingdolan dot com. Now here's Todd Lutsky.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Todd Lotsky does now join us for Ask Todd. It's
your chance to ask Todd your estate planning questions live
on air right now. Studio line is open at eight
eight eight to zero five two two six three, So
get calling so you can get in line to ask
Todd your estate planning questions. Usually we can get through

(00:50):
two to three of them, so make sure you call
early so we can get to you again. That number
is eight eight eight to zero five two two six three.
And this again is your chance to ask Todd your
state planning questions right now, live on air. That number
again is eight eight eight two zero five two two

(01:10):
six three. Mister Lutsky, how are you doing.

Speaker 3 (01:13):
I am doing okay, I've been better.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
You don't sound great.

Speaker 3 (01:17):
That's the problem.

Speaker 2 (01:18):
I mean, like you worse than normal.

Speaker 3 (01:20):
Yeah, well that's thank you. Yeah, somehow a backdoor compliment. Yeah,
I'm I'm feeling all right, but just not talking.

Speaker 2 (01:27):
Well, that's fine, it's just radio.

Speaker 3 (01:29):
How are you, uh good?

Speaker 2 (01:30):
I tried a frog flavored beer yesterday.

Speaker 3 (01:33):
They're coming out with all kinds of stuff these days.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
Yeah, you could really taste the hops. Yeah, there's good.
Todd want to talk to you about the evolution of
a state planning In the last you know, five six years,
there's been all kinds of tax law changes and all
kinds of different things. How does someone who's done in
a state plan know when they may need to update it?

Speaker 3 (01:56):
So, one of the things you should always look at
is value of your estate. Right, that's things that change
that you know, Folks like us in the estate planning world,
we don't know about right. We don't know how well
your portfolio is doing and your real estate has grown,
and so to the extent you feel your assets have

(02:18):
really you know, appreciated in value, might be worth you know,
sitting down with your estate planning attorney, assuming you've already
done your plan and seeing how you might want to
adjust it, or if you've never done your plan. I
think looking at value is always one of the first
things to think about, right because depending on how much

(02:41):
your worth will drive the type of estate plan that
you might need. Like, for example, if you're over let's
say fifteen million, which is the new federal estate tax
exemption come January one, twenty twenty six. Well, obviously, if

(03:01):
I'm married and I'm over fifteen million, then I need
to think about estate planning because by being married and
doing an estate plan, doing a trust, you are going
to be able to shelter up to thirty million through
the use of these trusts. In fact, I have a
real life story if I could share it absolutely, had

(03:24):
a client come in sits down. I worked about thirty
nine million, not married, been together, I don't know, thirty years.
Kids from separate relationships explain to them that if you
get married, we can save about twenty million dollars in

(03:46):
a state tax. Wow, I think we're going to head
to the courthouse right away. Sure, I mean it's that important.
Right By being married and using trusts, you're able to
you know, shelter up to you know, thirty million dollars
from a state taxes. But again basic a state planning
would accomplish that. Now the flip side is what if

(04:11):
you're worth four million. Well, here in Massachusetts the exemption
is two million per person. Again, if you're married and
you do basic a state planning through the use of trusts.
We talk about them all the time, the marital share
and the remainder share, and those are the buckets that
provide the shelter on the first death to use up

(04:35):
the exemption so that it's not taxed on the second death. Well, again,
if you're married, we can eliminate four million dollars from
Massachusetts a state tax and eliminate your estate tax. If
you are married and you don't do anything, the whole
four million likely will pass to the surviving spouse. And

(04:55):
if the surviving spouse died with say five million, because
they lived a while, they would be o earth. The
tax would be about three hundred thousand to mass So
you kind of are wasting giving money to the state
by not doing some basic estate planning.

Speaker 2 (05:11):
Talking with Todd Lutsky from Cushingen Dolan, this is your
chance to ask Todd your estate planning questions live on
air right now, still room at the phone line at
eight eight eight to zero five two two six three. Again,
that number is eight eight eight to zero five two
two sixty three, and it's your chance to ask Todd

(05:31):
your estate planning questions. We're going to take a quick
break now, but when we come back, we are going
to get to your questions. That phone number is eight
eight eight to zero five two two sixty three. Again,
it is eight eight eight to zero five two two
sixty three.

Speaker 1 (05:50):
Ask Todd with Todd Letsky every Wednesday at ten thirty
only here on the Financial Exchange Radio Network. Todd Letsky
answers your questions about a state and elder life planning
every Wednesday at ten thirty right here on the Financial
Exchange Radio.

Speaker 2 (06:06):
Network, talking with Tom Lotski from Kushing and Dolan. We
do still have some room on the phone lines for
your questions for Todd at eight eight eight to zero
five two two six three. Again, it's your opportunity to

(06:27):
ask Todd youre estate planning questions, and that phone number
is eight eight eight to zero five two two six three.
Let's go to Michael in Boston. Michael, what is your
question for Todd Alotsky.

Speaker 4 (06:41):
Oh, good morning, thank you. I have an irrevocable trust.
I'm the grantor. The trust is about eleven years old,
and I wondered, uh for the beneficiary taxes? Uh? So,
as the grantor of the trust, now I'm taking for

(07:01):
myself any dividends and interest or income that of any
kind that accumulate on the trust, which I understand I'm
entitled to do if I'm not around anymore in the future.
My beneficiary will get a certain amount of money every month.

(07:24):
What is taxable to him he'll have to do I
imagine a ten forty one in addition to his ten
forty for the trust income. But if he takes out,
let's say, twenty five hundred dollars a month, if that's
designated by my trust, that he is able to take

(07:45):
out up to that amount, what is actually taxable on
his ten forty?

Speaker 3 (07:52):
So let me ask you a couple of follow up questions. So, first,
you're the grandeur of the trust. Who's the trustee?

Speaker 4 (08:03):
I have two, one of which is a beneficiary, So for.

Speaker 3 (08:09):
Right now it's not you, and that's important.

Speaker 4 (08:12):
Good.

Speaker 3 (08:13):
So, so well you're living, You're saying the trust allows
you to pay income to yourself, right, interest and dividends, right,
so the trustee can give you the income. That's what
the trust says. Well, you're alive, correct.

Speaker 4 (08:28):
I understand that I have understood that as grantor of
the trust, I do take out interest and dividends when
I need them.

Speaker 3 (08:34):
Okay, so you don't. The trustee gives it to you
or it comes out from the trust. But yeah, we're
saying the same thing. So if you're getting the income,
and let's say the trust says just for other people's education.
If the trust says that the income shall be paid
to you, which is not uncommon, we draft our medicaid

(08:54):
irrevocable trust like this all the time. You know, then
it likely is a grand or trust and you will
be able to pick up the income on your personal return.
No problem. But the trust should still be filing a
ten forty one grant to or trust tax return. It
will end up showing zero on it, and it will

(09:16):
kick out a letter to you saying whether you took
the income or not, physically, it still gets picked up
on your tax return. So no problem, you're paying the
tax at your rate. Now fast forward to you dying
when you die, the trust is no longer a grand
tor trust because you died, so therefore it's going to

(09:38):
be a non grant tor trust and a new tax
ID number will be obtained, likely by the trustee. At
that point the trust will pay the income taxes on
the income, depending on how it's drafted, but likely if
it says hold stuff in trust for my beneficiaries and
they can get you know, income in the try trustees discretion,

(10:01):
or they can get you know, twenty five hundred a
month or whatever the rule is. Then to the extent
the income comes out of the trust physically to the kids,
then the trust would take an income distribution deduction and
not pay tax on it, and the kids would pick

(10:22):
it up on their personal return. So it's just a
function of how much comes out at that time. So
that's a little bit about how taxes work with these
irrevocable trusts. Folks, speaking of taxes, our guide this month,
balancing asset protection and avoiding estate taxes at the same time,
explains to you what we were talking about earlier, portability,

(10:46):
the pros and cons. It explains to you this marital share,
this remainder share, and actually walks you through how they
are designed to shelter the assets from estate taxes. And
it does the same thing for an irrevocable trust in
case you don't need the revocable trust and you're more
concerned about protecting assets from the nursing home as well.

(11:09):
And so it also gives you all the tables as
to how to calculate the estate tax so you can
put your own numbers in. It's really a great idea
to help you figure out which path is right for
you in estate planning. Call and get the guide. Uh
eight sixty six eight four eight five six nine nine
or Legal Exchange Show dot com again eight sixty six

(11:31):
eight four eight five six nine nine or Legal Exchange
Show dot com.

Speaker 2 (11:37):
Todd, I got another one here for you. Let's go
to Tom in Charlestown. Tom, what is your question for Todd?

Speaker 5 (11:43):
Good morning. My question has to do is I've heard
you mentioned Merriton's deduction that capped for example, if you know,
for federal tax purposes, you talked about fifteen million for
each persons and wife. So if your state is thirty
nine for example, like let's say when the husband dies, yeah,

(12:05):
that nine million become taxable because only the thirty million
is entitled to the metal deduction.

Speaker 3 (12:11):
No, no, no no. So it's a great, great question.
So the fifteen million is the cap right per person
that you can leave to someone other than a spouse,
but doesn't matter this person. And I'll make up an example.
The person can be worth one hundred million. When you die,

(12:32):
you can leave one hundred million to your spouse and
there is zero tax to And remember while that sounds great,
it's not really great. Why because the survivor has one
hundred million, and the government's just waiting until the survivor
dies to get way more taxes than they would get

(12:53):
if you did planning. So under the forty million dollar example, right,
you know, I don't want to leave forty million have
and pay forty percent on the amount over fifteen million,
which is what would happen when the survivor dies. So
does that help out?

Speaker 5 (13:10):
It does very much, Thank you very much.

Speaker 3 (13:11):
Oh you're welcome. So I think a lot of people
are confused by these exemptions sometimes, Chuck, and I think
it's important for them to understand that this exemption, although
we speak about it today, not only works the way
I said that's the cap, it also goes up and down,
so we have laws that change, Like since twenty eleven,

(13:34):
this exemption has been all over the map, and that's
why it's so important for people to do their planning
to grab whatever exemption is in place when you die.

Speaker 2 (13:45):
Has there been any indication of kind of where that
exemption is going in future years, like what is the
tax bill from this year? What does that specify things
look like over the next decade or so?

Speaker 3 (13:58):
You know, it basically gives us the idea that the
fifteen million is still indexed for inflation, so it's tied
to some tables every year. So I think for the
next three years anyway, we can kind of envision this,
you know, going up. I don't know exactly how high
it will go up, but I envision it going up

(14:18):
over the next three years. Now, the bill itself says, oh, well,
you know, it's permanent. But folks, you know, we don't
want to be lulled into a sense of security. It's
not permanent. It's not permanent any more than any other
bill that came out in the past that says it's permanent.
It's permanent until you have a new administration. And when

(14:40):
you have a new administration, they're allowed to change things.
As you see from this one right, you can change
other rules, pass new tax laws, past new initiatives, et cetera.
So I expect I just can't see it staying so high.
I think the government needs money, and I think ultimately,

(15:00):
you know, after we get to the next administration that
will probably see some downward pressure on these exemptions.

Speaker 2 (15:10):
Goa a couple seconds left. Any movement at the state
level for either new state level of state taxes or
change is happening to them.

Speaker 3 (15:19):
Interestingly enough, we know it went recently from one million
to two million and twenty twenty three, and that was
in Massachusetts, and Massachusetts took a long time, and I've
actually seen some new legislation on that that maybe they'll
change again.

Speaker 2 (15:31):
Mister Wotski, thanks for joining us.

Speaker 3 (15:32):
Always a pleasure.

Speaker 1 (15:34):
This has been Asked Odd on the Financial Exchange Radio Network,
Asked Todd with Todd. Lutsky has been presented by Cushing
and Dolan, serving Massachusetts and New England for more than
thirty years, helping families with the state and tax planning,
Medicaid planning and probate law. Call eight hundred three nine
three four thousand and one or visit Cushingdolan dot com.
The views expressed in this segment are solely those of

(15:54):
Cushing and Dolan. Armstrong Advisory does not provide any legal
or tax advice. Please consult with your illegal or tax
advisor much matters. Cushing and Armstrong do not endorse each
other and are not affiliated
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