Tax, Bankruptcy and Financial Problems

Course Description:

Test the treacherous (and shark-infested) waters of tax, bankruptcy, and financial problems. This course will teach participants how to apply, implement, and evaluate the strategic tax aspects of bankruptcy, property settlements, debt cancellation, and foreclosure. Current perspectives on asset protection, repossession, and bad debts are examined with an emphasis on planning considerations. The cancellation of indebtedness income inclusion rules are examined in the context of debt forgiveness and property foreclosure. Emphasis is given to the exceptions from income inclusion contained in §108. The tax treatment of property repossession under §1038 is explored with detail given to the calculation of gain and received property basis. Finally, eldercare and estate planning are reviewed and detailed.

Learning Objectives:

Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Determine how the 2005 Bankruptcy Act changed procedures and qualifications, identify the most common bankruptcy types, and specify the rules for automatic stay including their impact on “freezing” creditor activity, tax assessment, and collection.
• Identify the differences between preferential and nonpreferential payments specifying the priority of creditor claims, recognize when debt is discharged under various bankruptcy types, and identify how to establish an individual bankruptcy estate.
• Recognize partnership bankruptcies, specify debts covered under homesteading, and determine permissible garnishment amounts and special garnishment rules.
• Identify types of marital property and their likely division in marital property settlements and determine the benefits of premarital agreements stating the requirements and permissible provisions.
• Specify the position of U.S. v. Davis on interspousal transfers recognizing the changes made by §1041, identify the requirements of §1041 and the scope of its application, and recognize transfers incident to divorce and avoid them when desired.
• Determine the application of §1041 to transfers in trust and to third-parties transfers on behalf of a spouse or former spouse, identify the property basis for the transferor & transferee spouse after a property settlement, and specify the application of §1041 assumption liabilities including reporting and notice requirements.
• Recall the tax dangers of purchasing a former spouse's interest in property, identify the use of a §121 disposition or a §1031 exchange to dispose of real property received in a §1041 transfer, recognize the methods of dividing business interests in a marital settlement, and determine the post-receipt taxation and protection of assets and payments.
• Specify popular methods of dividing retirement benefits in a divorce or separation action identifying the requirements and tax consequences of a “qualified domestic relations order (QDRO), determine the treatment of IRAs at divorce considering the IRA deduction limit and rollovers, and recognize military pensions that may be available to a former spouse.
• Recognize the goals and purposes of asset protection and the objections to it, list reasons for asset protection and situations that can put assets at risk, determine how insurance, asset placement, and statutory protections can achieve asset protection, and identify the types of creditors associated with asset protection.
• Determine fraudulent transfers under the Uniform Acts, identify net worth under a balance sheet, and determine asset values in the preparation of a balance sheet.
• Identify how insurance and buy-sell agreements can offer asset protection by determining the asset protection elements of homeowner's, automobile, disability insurance, and buy-sell agreements.
• Recognize the asset protection advantages and disadvantages of ownership formats and entities citing the use of individual ownership and corporate ownership in an asset protection plan, recognize asset protection elements trusts, specify the types of co-tenancy and their asset protection dangers, and identify the protection provided by marital agreements.
• Identify deductible §213 medical care expenses, recognize the potential inclusion of spousal expenses, meals and lodging, cosmetic surgery, and reimburse expenses, and determine what constitutes a health savings account citing the benefits and qualifications of HSAs
• Cite variables that impact the deductibility of §170 charitable contributions recognizing qualified organizations and limitations and identify the types of contributions that can be made, their tax treatment, and substantiation requirements.
• Determine what constitutes a §165 casualty or theft and the rules for taking a deduction for all or part of each loss
• Recognize the §1038 repossession rules that apply to a transaction, determining gain or loss resulting from the repossession of sold under the installment and non-installment methods.
• Determine the potential gain and tax basis of property repossessed stating applicable limits and key elements.