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Drafting Wills and Trust Agreements Software Downloads
Software Updates
Drafting Wills and Trust Agreements 9.0 March 2011
Highlights
This new release (version 9.0) of DWTA implements various changes and additions in response to the passage of federal legislation in December 2010 entitled the "Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010," P.L. 111-312 ("2010 Tax Relief Act"), including the following new options:
- Client communication – Keep clients informed about the changes brought about by the 2010 Tax Relief Act with a new client letter summarizing the Act and suggesting the need for a review of each client's current estate plan
- Definition changes – Ensure that phrases such as "applicable exclusion amount" receive appropriate interpretations through inclusion in the definitional provisions
- Portability – Include language granting the executor discretion to allocate unused exclusion amounts to the spouse through new language offered in the Administrative Provisions topic (note – DWTA will address additional portability changes as planners develop strategies to utilize this new concept in estate planning)
- Share/trust allocation flexibility – Ensure flexibility in formula allocation plans (funding credit shelter/bypass trusts up to the maximum protected
amount) by setting up alternate share/trust allocations based on varying exclusion amounts ($1 million, any user-driven amount, or allocation in event of federal estate tax repeal) using the new "TRA 2010 Details" dialog
- Statement of intentions – Clarify the settlor's/testator's intent regarding drafting under the provisions in effect under the 2010 Tax Relief Act through the modified statement of intentions clause language
- Fixed dollar allocation options between marital and non-marital shares – Expand drafting flexibility with a new option to allocate a specified sum to the marital share for the spouse (in trust, outright, or a mixture of both) with the remainder to the non-marital share (in trust or outright to beneficiaries); alternatively, consider a parallel option now available to allocate a specified sum to the non-marital share with the remainder to the marital share
- State estate taxes – For decoupled states, allow the trustee to divide the family trust into marital and non-marital shares for state estate tax purposes using a new option available in the Administrative Provisions dialog
All subscribers would benefit from installing this update. For a detailed list of modifications, see the Release Notes. After installing version 9.0, for additional discussion of drafting options under the new 2010 Tax Relief Act and directions regarding how to access these new options in the software, go the Help menu and select DWTA 2010 Tax Act. View the changed clauses from the Main Menu under Other Options/Review Clause History.
Note — This release will also be issued in CD ROM format and shipped to subscribers; this release is being made available for electronic download in order to allow immediate access to this important content. After installing version 9.0 using the software download process, it will be unnecessary to utilize the 9.0 CD ROM when it arrives, as your system will already be current with version 9.0.
More Information
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