Article on South Dakota Special Spousal Property Trusts

Terry Prendergast recently published an Article entitled, South Dakota Special Spousal Property Trusts: South Dakota “Steps-Up” to the Plate and Hits a Home Run for Surviving Spouses, 61 S.D. L. Rev. 431 (2016). Provided below is an abstract of the Article:

With the increased emphasis on income tax planning caused by the higher estate and gift tax exemptions and portability, many practitioners are revisiting the issue of “stepped-up” basis, which has always favored joint owners who live in community property states. South Dakota’s legislature, reacting to this phenomenon, added Special Spousal Trust legislation in 2016 that enabled surviving spouses whose property passes through the trust to receive a 100% stepup in basis on the property for federal income tax purposes, thus creating a benefit similar to that of surviving spouses in community property states.