ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, November 18, 1996 TAG: 9611190026
SECTION: MONEY PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: MONEY MATTERS
SOURCE: MAG POFF
Q: We hear the politicians all talk about how we need to work on educating the public and retraining everybody. General Electric pays 100 percent of tuition and books, but by the time the government gets through taking taxes out of it, we end up paying 40 percent of the cost of taking the class.
I wonder why we are taxed on something that the politicians say is needed very badly.
A: You are fortunate to have an employer who provides this fringe benefit. Not every company does that, so their workers who want to train themselves and get ahead must finance their own continuing education.
These workers, of course, must pay for their tuition and books out of their own income that is subject to state and federal income tax. So do most college students and their parents.
The government's theory is that it is attempting to equalize the tax burden on these two groups of workers by taxing the money that just some of them receive to pay for education.
If you object to this idea, however, your best course of action is for you and your co-workers to write to your congressman to ask that this tax be lifted.
Inheritance conflict
Q: My uncle died in April 1994. I was listed as one of six heirs. The administrators of the estate made partial payments of $40,000 to the other five heirs in December 1995, but they didn't include me. They are accusing me of owing the estate money, which isn't true. They are preparing a lawsuit against me, but I'm pretty confident I can win.
If I win, they are going to owe me the $40,000 they paid to the other heirs. What interest rate are they going to have to pay me for the past year?
A: Section 6.1-330.54 of the Code of Virginia provides for an interest rate of 9 percent in cases involving a court judgment.
But A.B. Crush III, clerk of the Roanoke City Circuit Court, said most judges impose interest payments only after the case is reduced to a judgment. In only a few instances, he said, interest is imposed retroactively to the date of the event at issue in the case. Retroactive payment would be up to the judge if there is a genuine dispute over whether you were due any money.
Time is not on your side, as you should be able to see after a year's delay in the administrators taking any action.
You should at least consult with a lawyer about your rights in this case and whether you should sue to collect the $40,000 you believe you should receive from the estate. A lawyer can also give you an appraisal of your chances of winning a suit brought against you by the estate.
Lawyer shopping urged
Q: Can you tell me where I might find forms for making a living trust and a durable power of attorney? My estate is between $700,000 and $900,000. I can do my own after consulting with two lawyers who wanted $1,500 and $1,800 to do this.
A: Joseph Simmons of Simmons, Wilson and King Inc. of Christiansburg is a business management and tax consultant. He is not a lawyer.
His advice to you, however, is to consult a lawyer - but to shop around. You should be able to get the job done for less money than you state. He said a local lawyer recently drew up a durable power of attorney for one of his clients for $100.
Simmons said you might get help with a living trust from the trust department of a local bank.
But he suggested seeing a lawyer to determine if you really need a living trust. It's not a replacement for a will.
Living trusts are being touted as a way to avoid probate, but Simmons said Virginia is one of the best states in which to die because probate is simple and inexpensive. One of his clients recently handled an estate of $3.7 million in which the probate cost was less than $2,000. Smaller estates would pay much less.
Your estate might pay much more money if you fail to engage in estate and tax planning. Forms cannot cover every individual situation. If you make a mistake, you won't be around any more when the time comes to make corrections.
Q: We hear the politicians all talk about how we need to work on educating the public and retraining everybody. General Electric pays 100 percent of tuition and books, but by the time the government gets through taking taxes out of it, we end up paying 40 percent of the cost of taking the class.
I wonder why we are taxed on something that the politicians say is needed very badly.
A: You are fortunate to have an employer who provides this fringe benefit. Not every company does that, so their workers who want to train themselves and get ahead must finance their own continuing education.
These workers, of course, must pay for their tuition and books out of their own income that is subject to state and federal income tax. So do most college students and their parents.
The government's theory is that it is attempting to equalize the tax burden on these two groups of workers by taxing the money that just some of them receive to pay for education.
If you object to this idea, however, your best course of action is for you and your co-workers to write to your congressman to ask that this tax be lifted.
Inheritence conflict
Q: My uncle died in April 1994. I was listed as one of six heirs. The administrators of the estate made partial payments of $40,000 to the other five heirs in December 1995, but they didn't include me. They are accusing me of owing the estate money, which isn't true. They are preparing a lawsuit against me, but I'm pretty confident I can win.
If I win, they are going to owe me the $40,000 they paid to the other heirs. What interest rate are they going to have to pay me for the past year?
A: Section 6.1-330.54 of the Code of Virginia provides for an interest rate of 9 percent in cases involving a court judgment.
But A.B. Crush III, clerk of the Roanoke City Circuit Court, said most judges impose interest payments only after the case is reduced to a judgment. In only a few instances, he said, interest is imposed retroactively to the date of the event at issue in the case. Retroactive payment would be up to the judge if there is a genuine dispute over whether you were due any money.
Time is not on your side, as you should be able to see after a year's delay in the administrators taking any action.
You should at least consult with a lawyer about your rights in this case and whether you should sue to collect the $40,000 you believe you should receive from the estate. A lawyer can also give you an appraisal of your chances of winning a suit brought against you by the estate.
Lawyer shopping urged
Q: Can you tell me where I might find forms for making a living trust and a durable power of attorney? My estate is between $700,000 and $900,000. I can do my own after consulting with two lawyers who wanted $1,500 and $1,800 to do this.
A: Joseph Simmons of Simmons, Wilson and King Inc. of Christiansburg is a business management and tax consultant. He is not a lawyer.
His advice to you, however, is to consult a lawyer - but to shop around. You should be able to get the job done for less money than you state. He said a local lawyer recently drew up a durable power of attorney for one of his clients for $100.
Simmons said you might get help with a living trust from the trust department of a local bank.
But he suggested seeing a lawyer to determine if you really need a living trust. It's not a replacement for a will.
Living trusts are being touted as a way to avoid probate, but Simmons said Virginia is one of the best states in which to die because probate is simple and inexpensive. One of his clients recently handled an estate of $3.7 million in which the probate cost was less than $2,000. Smaller estates would pay much less.
Your estate might pay much more money if you fail to engage in estate and tax planning. Forms cannot cover every individual situation. If you make a mistake, you won't be around any more when the time comes to make corrections.
LENGTH: Long : 145 linesby CNB