Tax-Planning Client Letter on Irrevocable Trusts, Gift Tax, and Estate Essay

Tax-Planning Client Letter on Irrevocable Trusts, Gift Tax, and Estate Tax - Essay Example The first thing you need to know is that irrevocable trusts are treated as independent legal entities that own their assets. It is also important to know that in the course of establishing an irrevocable trust is likely involve unexpected tax consequences. Some of the tax consequences are likely to be unfavorable. Since you would like the income from the trust to be paid to your two grandchildren for 20 years, such payment would be accompanied by income tax. In this regard, you will need to complete Form 1041 and file it to report the trust income. This would be required if the trust earns over $600 in the course of tax year. Nevertheless, the income from the irrevocable trusts would be taxed in the same approach as individuals. You, as the trustee, will also be required to file and deliver copies of Schedule K-1 to each of the two grandchildren, who are the beneficiaries, in their first distribution during the tax year (Clausen, Givner, Kavagh, kaye, & Kinyan, 2014 ). There is also the issue of gift tax. In this regard, the transfer of your assets to the irrevocable trust is accompanied by gift tax liability. The only exclusion is a case of $13,000 per annum on each of the beneficiaries. If the gift exceeds $13,000, it is subjected a maximum tax rate of 35%. In such a case, you would be required to file the gift tax by filing Form 709.This would however be necessary if you owe the gift tax. It is important to note that your grandchildren, as the beneficiaries, will not be liable for the gift tax (Clausen, Givner, Kavagh, kaye, & Kinyan, 2014 ). Another case of possible tax liability is estate tax. Estate tax would be imposed after your death. This will be done on the portion of your estate that surpasses the gift tax exclusions in the same year of your death. Your executor after then would be required to file Form

Critical Analysis of the US Electoral College Essay Example for Free

Critical Analysis of the US Electoral College Essay Electoral College is a term that refers to a selected group of representatives who perform the task of electing candidates for particular powerful offices such as presidents or church leaders. The selection process of electing candidates usually involves participants from different and competing political or religious entities. In the recent past, the Electoral College has been conspicuously practiced in electing the President of the United Stats and the Pope of the Catholic Church. It is the US Electoral College that has particularly drawn much concern as to its effectiveness and reliability in electing the president of the federal republic. This essay identifies some of the problems associated with the Electoral College and analyses the implications of the suggested modifications and alternatives. Analysis of the US Electoral College In the United States, the Electoral College system is used to elect the President from competing candidates from either the Republican Party, the Democratic Party of independent candidates. See more: how to write an analysis Rather than elect a president and a vice-president directly through national elections, the US conducts separate elections in all its 51 states during which the winner in each state is allocated the number of electoral votes proportional to the total representation of the state in Congress which has a total of 538 electoral voters. The winner of the presidential contests is expected to win a total of 270 votes of the Electoral College. Although the design of the Electoral College was clever and well intentioned, the system is susceptible to inherent flaws, some of which were resolved by constitutional amendments while others remain unresolved to date (Miller, 2008). Indeed, as Miller (2008) noted, the selection system established by the Electoral College has at its core the objective to foster fairness in the election of candidates in non-partisan environment, the motive was rendered irrelevant with the formation of competing political parties to compete in the selection process for the presidency. There is no doubt that the Electoral College system presents many challenges and problems to the fairness of the Presidential election in the US which include the problem of election reversal, problems with the voting power, partisan biasness, excessive focus on battleground states and the likelihood of pledge violations. One obvious problem that emerges from the Electoral College system is that the results of adding up the total electoral votes in the states may end up being different from adding up the total popular votes in all those states. Miller (2008) identifies the situation of the 2000 elections where the eventual winner, George W. had more electoral votes but less popular vote than the loser, Albert Gore. Moreover, in the event that there emerges a serious third party contestant, then it would be impossible for any candidate to garner the mandatory 270 electoral votes. According to the US constitution, the emergence of such an eventuality would require that the election process be taken to the Congress where voting should be conducted repeatedly until a victor emerges. Whereas there are concerns if the Electoral College represents adequate allocation of voting powers to all the states, there are also concerns as two whether the bipartisanship of the two-party system in the US is likely to represent non-partisan election of the president. Moreover, the focus of the Electoral College on the battleground states attracts disproportionate attention from parties and their candidates, effectively raising questions on the voting powers of the other states. Conclusion Some of the suggested proposals suggested include: (1) amending the constitution to empower the American with the constitutional rights to directly elect the president through a popular vote; (2) apportionment of the electoral votes fractionally according to the population of states so as to eliminate the problem of election reversal; and (3) equal apportionment of the electoral votes to all states to eliminate the problem of state voting powers. The proposal to amend the constitution so as to give American the constitutional rights to directly elect the president stands out as the most superior suggestion because it will eliminate all the problems and challenges associated with the Electoral College. References Miller, N. R. (2008). The US electoral college: Origins, transformation, problems and prospects. UMBC, retrieved on 22 May 2009 from: http://userpages. umbc. edu/~nmiller/RESEARCH/ELECTCOL. CONSTDAY. ppt.

Human behaviour and Lifespan Development in Social Care

Human behaviour and Lifespan Development in Social Care Suzanna Pickering Social Workers are increasingly referring to theories of the life cycle, life span development and human behaviours these theories indicate the relationship of particular biological ages of life to psychological, social and development changes. From a theoretical perspective key theories of human growth and development will be discussed focusing on infants, highlighting the importance of professionals observing a child and making a judgment on their development and needs. Therefore, the theories will be applied to social work, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of taking a life span perspective, taking into account gender, culture and individuality. Attachment and the different theories associated with attachment will enable us to understand people in a more thorough manner and in particular the circumstances that service users may be faced with considering diversity, their individual cultural needs and beliefs. Whilst staying within the boundaries, values and Ethics set down by the GSCC. It is widely accepted that parent and child relationship plays a central role in the psychological development. (Pg1 Attachment and Development) Goldburg, S. (2000) Attachment and Development, London: Arnold. The term development refers to the process by which a child, or more generally an organism (human or animal) grows and changes through its lifespan. In humans the most dramatic developmental changes occur in infancy and childhood, as the newborn develops into a young adult capable of becoming a parent himself or herself. From its origins much of developmental psychology has thus been concerned with child psychology, and with the changes from infancy through to adolescence. Smith, P.K. and Cowie, H. (1996) Understanding Childrens Development (2nd ed.), Oxford: Blackwell. The term attachment is described in Collins Dictionary of Social Work (Thomas, M. and Pierson, J. (1995), London: Harper Collins) as a long lasting emotional bond between two individuals, involving their seeking proximity to each other and having pleasure in each others company. Typically attachment is developed by infants towards their principal care-givers, but it may also characterize feelings between other people, or between a person and some object. Attachment is a strong emotional bond that develops between infant and caregiver, providing the infant with emotional security. By the second half of the first year, infants are said to become attached to familiar people who have responded to their need for physical care and stimulation. (Bowlby, J 1998) How these attachments develop and whether attachment theory provides a sound basis for advice on how to raise children have been intense topics of theoretical debate. Attachment refers to the interactive reciprocal relationship that infants and young children experience and develop with their primary caregiver(Bowlby, 1982). Many times this caregiver is the infants biological mother. In recent times the population of working mothers has increased dramatically. Due to this demographic change, the primary caregiver for a child is sometimes the biological father and other relatives such as aunts, uncles, grandparents, older siblings, nannies or day care providers.There are also Children in our country who for various reasons find themselves in the care of foster or adoptive parents. Following birth is a rapid area of learning for the child. A new born baby can see approximately 20 cm and follow a moving object, smell, hear and recognise voices. Checks are preformed on the newborn to ensure nothing obvious is wrong, these checks include Reflexes, Moro response (toes curling), Babinski (grasps fingers and hangs), ensuring that infant is rooting for the breast, sucking swallowing, step and stepping. The new born is totally reliant on the caregiver as it is not equipped to survive without it. The caregiver provides food, warmth and protection, for example when a baby cries it is for a reason this is a form of communication. Babies know that when they cry somebody will come and will ensure to satisfy the babies needs. Chronologically, this is the period of infancy through the first one or two years of life. The child, well-handled, nurtured and loved, develops trust and security and a basic optimism. Badly handled, he becomes insecure and mistrustful.(Erikson E Trus t Vs Mistrust 8 Stages of Development) cited Child Development Information (2009) Children develop and grow from the moment they are conceived until early adulthood, showing many changes within their abilities. Whilst no two children will develop at exactly the same time, as Social Workers we use benchmarks to observe behaviours and development. Understanding the stage and process of development can help a Social Worker identify the achievement of developmental milestones such as a Childs first step or first words and to acknowledge the child is developing normally within the benchmarks we work. Attachment theory is a psychological, evolutionary and ethological theory that forms relationships. One important principle of attachment theory is that a young child needs to develop a relationship with at least one primary caregiver for social and emotional development to occur normally. The theory was formulated by psychiatrist and psychoanalyst John Bowlby. The area of the infant is considered by Bowlby as sensitivity period. Within attachment theory, infant behaviour associated with attachment is primarily the seeking of familiarity of an attachment figure in stressful situations. Infants become attached to adults who are sensitive and responsive to their needs and who remain as consistent caregivers for some months during the period from about six months to two years of age. During the latter part of this period, children begin to use attachment figures as a secure base to explore from and return to with the knowledge that a parent will be where they left them in the case of a secure attachment. Separation anxiety or grief following the loss of an attachment figure is considered to be a normal and adaptive response for an attached infant. The child will show a clear preference for the primary caregiver on their return; this will help guide the individuals feelings, thoughts and expectations in later relationships. Attachment theorists point to data that favour the caregiver responsiveness hypothesis. For example, it has been found that an infants crying changes over the first year much more than the mothers responsiveness to the crying does. Moreover, the mothers responsiveness over a 3-month period predicts the infants over the 3 months significantly better than the infants crying predicts the mothers subsequent responsiveness to crying. In short, the mother appears to influence the infants crying more than the infant influences the mothers responsiveness to crying (Bell Ainsworth, 1972). As a social worker we need to gain an understanding of the whole child, their development and their life course. It is important to take a range of theories and perspectives into account that support us in understanding childrens growth and development and individual experience, the role and the impact of their families and the influence of processes and systems in their lives. Through this you should be able to see beyond the description of the child, to give meaning to their lives and experiences. Thus we are recognising the child as an individual. We need to acknowledge there are children with unique and specific needs that may impact on their individual development and behaviour, certainly on their experiences and how others view and respond to them, a good example would be the experience and views of a child with a disability. Pg 31 SW humanÂÂ   deve. We need to recognise that communities raise children in diverse ways with each culture encouraging the kinds of habits and traits that help them to integrate and function within that culture, (pg 33 Social work and human development) however we need to be mindful of the laws and human rights that we have within the United Kingdom whilst being aware of cultural diversities and preferences. Recognising the importance of culture within the childs development is important for a number of reasons. Firstly we need to identify those aspects of development that impact on all children ,not just through theories and studies based on white, middle class children living with a western culture. Secondly we need to have an understanding of the childs family culture and how that impacts on the child; we need to understand the impact of cultural beliefs as part of that environment. We need to consider how different cultural beliefs impact on how people experience their lives. Attachment process for the parents seems to begin with the development of an initial emotional bond and then extends to more and more skilful attachment behaviours. For the infant, the process is said to begin with attachment behaviours and then progresses to the full characteristics of attachment somewhat later (Atkinson et al 2000). Sigmund Freud however, also offered a view on the area of attachment and his view was later known as the The Cupboard Theory. This theory stated that the absence of the mother would frighten the baby into believing that it would not be nourished. This theory offered by Freud has received a great deal of criticism on the basis that there is no evidence to suggest that the infant associates the mother entirely with nourishment. Bowlbys view supplemented these criticisms as he believed that babies have inborn tendencies towards the mother and are not attached by food or warmth. Another key development which was argued disproved Freuds theory and offered support towards the view of Bowlby was an experiment which was conducted by Harlow and Harlow in 1977. This experiment consisted of Rhesus monkeys been raised without their mothers. The Monkeys were housed is isolated cages with a model mother either made from wire or terry-towel cloth. The terry-towel cloth had no provision in which to feed the monkeys whereas the wire mother figure did in the form of milk yielding nipples. The study concluded that every time the monkeys were frightened they would seek support and comfort from the warm non-food providing terry-towel cloth model as opposed to the cold food providing wire model. These findings clearly disputed the view of Freuds Cupboard theory. And it indicated, as Bowlby would argue, that a mothers love is not for nourishing but for comforting and children, like the rhesus monkeys, use teddy bears for comfort if they feel in anyway threatened (Gleightman, H . et al 1999).ÂÂ   Later criticisms of attachment theory relate to temperament, the complexity of social relationships, and the limitations of discrete patterns for classifications. Attachment theory has been significantly modified as a result of empirical research, but the concepts have become generally accepted, although we are no longer working with just a Euro centric base, we use these theories as a benchmark within Social Work taking into account individual cultures and beliefs. Another disadvantage for a child is having a good attachment with a poor parent; this could cause lack of trust, mistrust and the child then as having to care for themselves and possibly siblings. Although criticisms have been made of the Theory of Attachment and certain aspects of the work of Bowlby, Ainsworth etc I feel that the theory of attachment has developed immensely through their work. It can certainly be argued that their work will and will continue to contributed to our understanding of how parent and child attachments develop and I feel that their work provides us with reasoning as to why children may develop in different ways. Although there are criticisms which exist of the theories, I feel that it can be clearly argued that they give us a solid information base as to why attachment is important in the development of infants and children. The overall consensus surrounding attachment and the associated debates have in past suffered criticism from feminist groups too. For example, criticisms surrounding Bowlbys work have been made highlighting that he maintains that the mother should be the main carer of the infant and that her continuous care should be present while the child is growing and developing (Gross, R. 1999). This has been argued to be sexist as the implication is that the mother will not work and will automatically undertake child rearing roles. It can be argued once again that this presumption is not only sexist but as highlighted previously, culturally unethical too. One major argument which has been offered by Gross R. in 1999 to support the feminist view is that a stable network of adults offers adequate care and in some cases can have advantages over a system where the mother has the meet all the infants needs (Gross, R. 1999).

Analysis of Emily Dickinsons The Bustle in a House Essay -- Dickinson

Analysis of Emily Dickinson's The Bustle in a House The Bustle in a House is a poem by Emily Dickinson about the painful loss one feels after the death of a loved one. Dickinson was quite familiar with the kind of pain expressed in her poem. Her father, mother, nephew, and three close friends, all died within an eight-year period. It is no small wonder that a common theme in Dickinson s poetry is death. She uses many literary devices, including structure, imagery, figurative language, sound devices, and capitalization; to convey the hurt one experiences when a loved one passes on.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The structure of   The Bustle in a House   is very interesting. It is a short poem, only two stanzas long. Both stanzas are made up of a single sentence. With the exception of a lone dash at the end of the first stanza, and the period that ends the sentence, there is no punctuation. All of these factors add up to make the poem have a very brisk pace. The pace makes it seem that after death, one is supposed to just pick up and go on as usual.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Dickinson also uses imagery to add to the th...

American Women in the 19th vs 20th Century Essay

For many of the American history, women were not considered equal to men and were denied equality in many areas in life. In the 19th century women had no legal identity, apart from their husband. Married women could not hold property in their own names, make contracts, sit on a jury, write a will, or vote. Nor did women have the same opportunities for education and careers that men had. Yet, many women found ways to show their intelligence, courage, and leadership. In the 20th century, women in most states won the right to vote and increased their education and job opportunities. Since early 19th century women have been underestimated by men. Women were longed considered weaker than men. They were unable to perform work requiring muscular or intellectual development. A lower-class woman job included working for higher class families doing household duties, such as cleaning and cooking. Unable to afford help in the house they were responsible of their household duties. Traditionally, a middle-class girl would tend to learn from her mother’s examples. Cooking, cleaning, and caring for children was the behavior expected of her when she grew up. A lot was expected from these women, and they were often tired and sick. An upper-class married woman, after having everything as a child, is to be responsible of her own household and slave plantation. Different from the lower-class, the upper-class could afford a slave that was needed to help with house duties. â€Å"Upper-class women responsibilities involved; running a slave plantation, being a nurse to the slaves, making the slaves clothes, overseeing the food preparation, and supervising the work plans. †(Women in 19th) Most women were excluded from most jobs. The 20th century produced dramatic changes and opportunities for women. The success of many manufacturing wholesale trade, banking, and services depended on women and grew rapidly. During WWI, many women were government used as a political tool, enfranchising army nurses and female relatives of soldiers serving overseas in order to secure an election victory. Securing a job was only the first step in the right direction for women, soon after they aimed for the right to vote. â€Å"Women won the right to vote on August 26, 1920, but this long fight wasn’t easily achieved. It formally began 72 years earlier at the Seneca Falls Convention, organized by Elizabeth Cady and Lucretia Mott. †(Dougas, 1999) During that time the suffrage movements in the United States were large and vigorous. After the Union winning the Civil War, women hoped their hard work would result in suffrage for women as well as for blacks. But the blacks were granted citizenship and suffrage, not to women. The struggle to win the vote was slow and frustrating. â€Å"Wyoming Territory in 1869, Utah Territory in 1870, and the states of Colorado in 1893 and Idaho in 1896 granted women the vote but the Eastern States resisted. (WIC, 1994) Many Organizations were created that develop many meetings to help gain rights for women. The National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA) came about after Elizabeth and Lucy Stone uniting their groups. Although they have not accomplished their goal, they continued to fight. â€Å"In 1907 international socialism decided to support women’s suffrage. Since bans against female party membership existed within most traditional political parties, Socialists, having to organize women separately from me, manage to create successful oriented movements in some countries. (Women’s Suffrage, 1996) Many other conventions and associations were form to help women to gain their rights. As the years advanced, women grew stronger and did not give up. Although they achieved the voting rights, they continued struggling to gain equal participation in political office alongside men. Winning the right to vote inspired the younger generation of women to go to school and gain the knowledge needed for a better life style. â€Å"Test made in the 1860’s that the scholastic achievement of girls was higher in the early grades than in high school. (WIC, 1994) This was caused by the lack of ambition given to the girls. Teachers and family did not expect the girls to achieve any educational skills. She was to anticipate in marriage and motherhood. Other girls who went to school were lucky, but not only because there was room for them. Generally, schools were open to girls during the summer. Summer was when the boys were working. However, colleges were still full of boys and very little of girls. Due to the Civil War an increase demand for higher education for women was needed. The reason of an eruption in the numbers of women entering higher education was the returning veterans and the later the baby boom. â€Å"During the 1960’s and 1970’s, due to social and legislative changes, several intuitions of higher education that had been previously all-male open doors to women. † (Harwarth) Numerous institutions and private schools became available to women. Men and women had arguments on the separation of genders but later the school converted to a coeducational public institution. After many disagreements and protests, women can now earn a degree alongside men who can no longer interfere with their education. The 19th and 20th century had different roles for women in the Unites States. In both centuries, women had to work hard to gain equality. Although women accomplished many goals, they still continue to strive for new ambitions, such as jobs. Women had the desire to vote and have equal rights with men, this gave them much respect. They were giving respect by having women institutions and public schools that directed them to join men. There will never be an ending to the equality between women and men. The competition among the two will always be there.

Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris Are the Toolbox Killers

Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris Are the Toolbox Killers In late October 1979, California authorities were busy hunting down and capturing The Hillside Strangler, Angelo Buono. In the meantime, two more barbaric killers had teamed up to fulfill a prison time fantasy - to kidnap, rape, torture and kill a girl for each teenage year. For two months, the duo hunted roads and beaches, looking for victims who  matched their demented fantasy. They almost met their goal, killing five young girls, ages ranging between 13 to 18. This is their story. Bittaker and Norris Meet In 1978, Lawrence Sigmund Bittaker, age 38, and Roy L. Norris, age 30, met while in the California State Prison at San Luis Obispo. Norris was labeled as a mentally disordered sex offender and previously spent four years at a state mental institution. Once released, he raped again and returned to prison. Bittaker spent most of his adult life behind bars for various offenses. As their friendship grew, so did their fantasies of raping and murdering teenage girls. The Murder Mack After their release from prison, they paired up, transformed Bittakers 1977 GMC van into what they nicknamed, Murder Mack, and began their kidnap, torture and killing spree of young girls. As is characteristic of psychopaths, the pain inflicted on their victims grew more vicious with each new captive. Cindy Schaeffer On June 24, 1979, in Redondo Beach, Cindy Schaeffer, age 16, was walking to her grandmother’s house after attending a church program. Bittaker and Norris pulled up next to her in the Murder Mack and tried to entice her to go for a ride. Her attempts to ignore the two failed. She was forced into the van and taken to a pre-selected spot in the mountains. There she was tortured and denied her requests to pray before the two beat and strangled her to death with wire coat hangers. Andrea Hall On July 8, 1979, the duo went hunting for their second victim and found 18-year-old Andrea Hall hitchhiking on the Pacific Coast Highway. With Bittaker hiding in the back, Norris stopped and offered Hall a ride. Within minutes after she entered the van, Bittaker attacked, raped and took pictures of her bound and in fear. As if playing a game, Bittaker then asked why she should be allowed to live. Not liking her answer, he stabbed her in the ear with an ice pick and choked her to death. Jackie Gilliam and Jacqueline Lamp On Sept.  3, 1979, the murderous pair picked up their youngest victims from a bus stop at Hermosa Beach. Jackie Gilliam, 15, and Jacqueline Lamp, 13, were kidnapped and taken to the mountain location where they were raped and tortured for two days. As with Hall, both girls were stabbed in each ear with an ice pick, their small bodies viciously attacked with vice grips, then strangled to death with coat hangers tightened with pliers. Lynette Ledford The killers last known victim was killed on Oct. 31, 1979. Sixteen-year-old Lynette Ledford was kidnapped and her body mutilated. The young girl was stabbed numerous times, and with pliers, Bittaker ripped at her body. During her torture, her screams and pleas were tape-recorded as Bittaker repeatedly beat the young girls elbows with a sledgehammer, all the time demanding that she not stop screaming. In the end, the pair strangled her with a coat hanger. For fun the pair decided to leave Ledfords brutalized corpse on the lawn of a suburban home in Hermosa Beach, just to see the reaction of the media. The Hillside Strangler, Angelo Buono, had been caught just a few days before the discovery of Lynette Ledfords body, although authorities were not swayed into identifying her killer as Buono. Captured Norris was the murderous pairs downfall. He bragged to an old prison friend about his crime spree. The friend tipped off police, and the story sounded much like that of the victim, Shirley Sanders. On September 30, Shirley Sanders managed to escape from two men who used chemical mace on her, then raped her inside a van. Police interviewed her again, this time armed with pictures, and Sanders was able to identify the van and Norris and Bittaker as her attackers. Norris Points the Finger at Bittaker The two were arrested for unrelated crimes and held without bail for violating their probations. During an interrogation, Norris began admitting details about the pairs murderous activities, and he pointed the finger at Bittaker for being the one who killed their victims. 500 Photos - 19 Missing Girls Norris worked out a deal with authorities in exchange for his testimony against Bittaker, as well as showing police where they hid the bodies of their victims. Overall, police found over 500 photos of teenaged girls, 19 of which were listed as missing. But Norris clammed up and would only tell investigators what happened to five of the 19 missing girls. The Sentencing During Bittakers and Norris trial, the disturbing pictures of their crimes and the tape-recording of Lynette Ledfords final painful hours were shared with the jury. The impact was substantial. Bittaker was sentenced to death, and the judge included an extra 199-year life sentence just in case his death sentence was ever commuted to life. Norris was given 45 years to life for his cooperation in the investigation. In 2009, Norris was denied parole for an additional 10 years. Sources Couples Who Kill by Carol Anne Davis