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A last will and testament in which the testator bequeaths to the surviving spouse everything that the testator owns and can pass by probate. • An “I love you” will might be simple, but it has downsides. See Hani Sarji, “I Love You” Will Might Not Show Love to Surviving Spouse, Wills, Trusts, Estates, Feb. 12, 2022.

Launched in 1985, this index “measures the currency [i.e., the dollar] against a basket of its biggest trading partners . . . .” Chelsey Dulaney, Megumi Fujikawa & Rebecca Feng, Dollar’s Rise Spells Trouble for Global Economies, WSJ, Sept. 18, 2022 (Apple News link).

What is the Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax Deferral Program?, Illinois Revenue:

The Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax Deferral Program provides tax relief for qualified senior citizens by allowing them to defer all or part of their property tax and special assessment payments on their principal residence. The deferral is similar to a loan against the property’s fair market value. Deferred amounts are borrowed from the state, who then pays the tax bill to the County Collector’s Office. Interest on the amount paid by the State accumulates and a lien is placed on the property for all deferred tax payments and interest. (320 ILCS 30/1 et. seq.).

A decedent’s estate that does not have sufficient cash to pay taxes (estate, death, or inheritance taxes) or credit claims before making distributions to beneficiaries or heirs.

An acronym for irrevocable life insurance trust.

Respecting New York WebSurrogate: A document that is not listed on WebSurrogate. • See WebSurrogate December 2021 Upgrade Info, nycourts.gov; Hani Sarji, New York County Surrogate’s Court Records Will Be Available on WebSurrogate Starting 11/6/2023, Wills, Trusts, Estates, Nov. 3, 2023.

In feudal times, implied rights granted to a lord and implied obligations imposed on a tenant that were additional to the particular services required of a tenant to the lord. These rights arose from the feudal relationship, not from any express agreement by the tenant. • See tenure.

A plan that allows student-borrowers to repay their student loans as a percentage of income, instead of a standard monthly payment that is based on the amount borrowed and the interest rate.

A trust whose funding is an incomplete gift for purposes of the gift tax but a complete transfer for the purposes of the income tax. The trust must be formed in a state that allows domestic asset protection trusts and has a fiduciary state income tax. • “The primary use for an ING Trust is to save state income taxes. Therefore, the typical client is a resident of a state with a high state income tax who is either selling a business or other asset that will have a large capital gain or who has an asset, such as a large brokerage portfolio, that has sizable distributions that would be taxed by the client’s home state if the client hadn’t set up the ING Trust. It is important to note that income earned by an asset, such as a locally-run business or local real estate, is considered sourced to the client’s home state and therefore cannot avoid state income taxes using the ING Trust.” Steven J. Oshins, Why Do Nevada and Delaware Get Most of the ING Trust Business?, Ultimate Estate Planner, July 1, 2023. • The grantor cannot be a trustee of an ING, and the trust must have a Distribution Committee.

The legal process of forming a new corporation, granting it a separate legal identity from its owners. This process involves creating a legal entity with its own rights and responsibilities, distinct from those of its shareholders. Key aspects of incorporation include defining the corporation’s structure, issuing shares representing ownership, and establishing governance procedures through documents like articles of incorporation, bylaws, and shareholder agreements. These elements collectively define corporate ownership, control, and operational guidelines.

A formal legal agreement, often used in financial transactions, that establishes the terms and conditions governing a relationship between parties, such as a bond issuer, trustee, and bondholders. It typically outlines the trustee’s duties, the rights of the beneficiaries, and the obligations of the issuer, and may include provisions for managing trust assets, repayment terms, and remedies in case of default. Indentures are commonly used in trust and bond agreements and may impose fiduciary responsibilities on the trustee. See trust indenture.

A unique identification number assigned to each case by the court.

“[A] formal charge outlining allegations against the defendant—all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.” Kelly Phillips Erb, Two Promoters Charged In Alleged Trust Tax Shelter Fraud Scheme, Forbes, Sept. 26, 2023 (Apple News link).

“[A] personal account set up at a brokerage firm or mutual fund company that the saver manages.” Adam Shell, Rolling Over a 401(k) Into an IRA, Kiplinger, July 16, 2024 (Apple News link).

“[A] tax processing number issued by the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS issues ITINs to individuals who are required to have a U.S. taxpayer identification number but who do not have, and are not eligible) to obtain, a Social Security number (SSN) from the Social Security Administration (SSA).” Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, IRS.gov.

See separately managed account.

Risk that “is specific to the firms in a particular industry or an industry grouping.” Langbein, The Uniform Prudent Investor Act and the Future of Trust Investing, 81 Iowa L. Rev. 641, 647 (1996). C.f. firm risk and market risk.

Prices rise; the value of money decreases. • “Inflation is a measure of how quickly prices are rising over a given period of time. . . . [I]t’s a useful way of measuring how our spending power has changed over time.” Ruth Emery, What is inflation and how does it affect you?, Money Week, Nov. 15, 2022 (Apple News link).

“[T]he rate of change in prices.” James Broughel, Why Raising Taxes Is A Misguided Approach To Inflation Control, Forbes, March 24, 2023 (Apple News link).

See non-judicial settlement of an estate.

Property that, upon an individual’s death and in the absence of a will, passes to legally recognized heirs under the laws of intestacy. Inheritable property typically includes assets that are solely owned by the decedent and do not have designated beneficiaries or joint ownership arrangements that transfer ownership automatically at death. Intestacy statutes govern how such property is distributed, often prioritizing close relatives such as spouses, children, and other family members in a legally defined order.

Property or assets received from a deceased individual, either through a will (probate property), by operation of law (non-probate property), or under the laws of intestacy if there is no will. Inheritance includes all property passed down to heirs or beneficiaries, whether by will, trust, joint ownership with rights of survivorship, direct beneficiary designations, or, in the absence of a will, through the statutory rules of intestate succession.

An inheritance tax is imposed on each beneficiary of an estate for the privilege of receiving property from the dead. C.f. estate tax.

Closed-ended loans. “They work by providing a lump sum, which you then repay the lender in regular payments that are typically the same amount each month and for a set time.” Investopedia, Debt: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Aug. 2023 (Apple News link). C.f. revolving debt.

See installment debt.

Title that an insurance company will be willing to ensure, even though there might be a defect (such as an ancient mortgage). C.f. marketable title.

“[I]ntentionalists prioritize (at least when compared to textualists) the intentions of the enacting legislature. See, e.g., Caleb Nelson, What Is Textualism?, 91 Va. L. Rev. 347, 351-52 (2005) (‘[I]ntentionalists call upon courts to try to enforce the directives that members of the enacting legislature understood themselves to be adopting.’).” Gregory A. Elinson & Robert H. Sitkoff, When a Statute Comes with a User Manual: Reconciling Textualism and Uniform Acts, 71 Emory L.J. 1073 (2022). C.f purposivist.

A trust that is treated as owned by its creator for income-tax purposes and by the beneficiaries for wealth-transfer tax purposes. See grantor trust, [non-grantor trust](#non-grantor trust).

Among other things.

“If interest rates rise, the value of long-term bonds will suffer a far greater decline in price than bonds with shorter-term maturities.” Paul S. Lee, Implementing Total Return Trusts (2002).

The federal tax statutes in the United States. • “Tax statutes had different iterations before they were officially codified in 1874. The tax code was formally titled the Internal Revenue Code in 1939, and Congress made revisions in 1954 and 1986.” TheStreet Staff, What Is the Internal Revenue Code? Definition & History, TheStreet, Jan. 31, 2023 (Apple News link).

Christine Kim, Weekly SSRN Article Review And Roundup: Kim Reviews The Internet Tax Freedom Act At 25 By Hellerstein & Appleby, TaxProf Blog, April 28, 2023:

The ITFA was enacted in 1998 to temporarily suspend the enactment of new state and local taxes on Internet access in order to encourage electronic commerce. Congress also created a committee to study the issues raised by such taxes, and to give legislative recommendations. After failing to adopt federal legislation and extending the ITFA four times, Congress finally made the act permanent in 2016.

The ITFA prohibits three types of taxes: (1) taxes on internet access; (2) discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce; and (3) multiple taxes on electronic commerce. . . . [T]he technology, business models, and charges associated with access to and use of the internet have evolved dramatically since the ITFA’s original enactment.

. . .

[T]he best solution would be for Congress to repeal or amend the ITFA to tackle the current digital economy. Otherwise, . . . ITFA could continue to lead to distortion and litigation over states’ reasonable ability to tax the digital economy . . . . [T]he underlying rule the ITFA imposes is not “fit for service” and so all litigating about it is a waste of time and resources no matter the result.

The law that applies when someone dies without a will, with a will that is successfully challenged, or with a will that does not dispose of all of the decedent’s probate estate.

Someone who dies without a will. C.f. testate.

“[Y]ields are higher on short term debt than long-term bonds . . . .” James Freeman, Paul Singer, the Man Who Saw the Economic Crisis Coming, WSJ, April 7, 2023 (Apple News link). • “An unusual situation in the bond market right now is that interest rates are higher for short-term debt than they are for long term debt. For Treasurys, that means that bills due in six months yield 4.9%, with the return declining to 3.3% in 10 years before edging back up to 3.66% in 20 years. This is called an inverted yield curve, and it predicts interest rates will decline, possibly along with economic growth, in coming years. The curve for corporates is less sharply inverted . . . .” Mitchell Martin, How Bond Laddering Can Keep You From Having An SVB Portfolio, Forbes, April 8, 2023 (Apple News link).

“[A] highly regulated term under the Investment Adviser Act of 1940.[A]ll investment advisers must register either with the SEC and/or by state registration and are bound by law to act as fiduciaries whether in conjunction with discretionary authority or not . . . . With a focus on investing, investment advisers don’t typically mix in financial or tax planning.” Alisa Wolfson, Fiduciary vs. financial adviser: What’s the difference?, MarketWatch, June 26, 2023.

“[R]egulates investment advisers including money managers, investment consultants and financial planners and requires firms and practitioners compensated for advising others about securities investments to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission.” Alisa Wolfson, Fiduciary vs. financial adviser: What’s the difference?, MarketWatch, June 26, 2023.

A company that has a high credit rating, meaning that it has a low risk of defaulting on its debt obligations. Credit rating agencies, such as Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch, assign ratings to companies based on their financial strength, earnings potential, debt level, and debt-paying history. Companies that are rated BBB or higher by Standard & Poor’s or Baa or higher by Moody’s are considered investment grade. These companies are more likely to attract investors and borrow money at lower interest rates than companies with lower ratings. Investment grade companies are generally more stable and reliable than non-investment grade companies, but they may also offer lower returns and growth prospects. • Example: “Investment grade-rated companies and those with lower ratings that finally warmed to convertible bonds in 2023 after years of shunning them are set to keep the relationship going, even as investors grow increasingly convinced that central bank rate cuts are just around the corner.” Amy Or, Growing Demand For Convertible Bonds Likely To Survive Rate Cuts, Financial Advisor, Jan. 9, 2024.

Involuntary alienation occurs when a person gives up title to property against their will. • Involuntary alienation can happen because of adverse possession, bankruptcy, condemnation under eminent domain, or foreclosure.