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Page 18 For Advertising with Results, call The Advocate Newspapers at 617-387-2200 or Info@advocatenews.net TAX BENEFITS OF IRREVOCABLE TRUSTS taxes on. f you place your principal residence into an irrevocable trust to protect the equity for your children, you can sell your home and still take advantage of the $250,000 capital gains tax exclusion ($500,000 for a married couple) upon sale. For example, if you are single and you lived in your home for at least two of the five years prior to the date of sale of your home, and you sold your home for $750,000, with a purchase price of $500,000, the $250,000 capital gain would not be taxable. In order to determine your actual cost basis, you would be adding to the purchase price all capital improvements since acquisition such as a new roof, new windows, new heating system, kitchen renovation, bathroom renovation, asphalt driveway, etc., plus any and all closing costs on the sale of the house such as broker’s commission, tax stamps, legal fees and recording fees. Upon your death, the fair I market value of the home would become the new cost basis in the hands of the beneficiaries of the Trust, such as your children. If they were to sell the home shortly after your death, in all probability, there would then be no capital gains tax to pay. Only if the property appreciated significantly since the date of your death would there then be a capital gain to pay Keep in mind that once the five-year look-back period has passed, the house would not be a countable asset for MassHealth purposes and being held in the irrevocable Trust would avoid probate as well as estate recovery for MassHealth benefits paid. If the house were to be sold during your lifetime, the net sales proceeds would be placed into the irrevocable Trust to either purchase a new home to be held by the Trust or to invest the monies to generate income to be paid to you as an income beneficiary of the Trust. This would be the case if you decided to rent and not purchase a replacement property. The sale of the home and the purchase of a replacement home does not restart the five-year look-back period. Since the irrevocable Trust is drafted as a grantor-type Trust, even if you place a brokerage account into such a Trust, the interest, dividend and capital gain distribution income would be reported on a Trust tax return but the Trust would generate a Grantor Letter to be issued to the Grantor of the Trust (Settlor or Trustor) in order for the Grantor to be able to report this income on his or her individual income tax return at the much lower tax rates than those of Trusts. Not all types of assets are suitable to be placed into an irrevocable Trust as part of a Medicaid plan. For example, retirement accounts and IRA’s are assets that you would not place into such a Trust as to do so would create an immediate taxable event. Joseph D. Cataldo is an estate planning/elder law attorney, Certified Public Accountant, Certified Financial Planner, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a master’s degree in taxation. THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, June 23, 2023 MUSINGS | FROM PAGE 3 tive memories I am sure – terrible day!” • David Dortona said John was the “big brother he never had” and that he “missed him every day.” • Joani Fucci: “I remember Ross Schifano was actually walking under that bridge when it happened. He was a mess when he reached his home on Whitman St. I’m sure it’s etched in his mind forever; it was such a sad day in Edgeworth.” • Vinny Della Gatta recalls he saw Rossie running towards his house on Adams Street “crying like crazy.” He then went up the hill towards the tracks and saw what a mess the scene was. Then Ptl. Butchie Gennetti came up to him and told him to leave the area. It was the year Jimmy graduated, but the memory of that day has never left him. He lived behind Tricca’s on Adams close to the scene of the accident; he was in the shower when the train whistle loudly blew. He heard a thud and knew there was some sort of accident; that is when he ran outside and his life “changed forever.” He continued: “right next to Tricca’s Restaurant on the corner of Adams and Pearl after that happened is when they started to work on the track for the new transportation and made it so no one can just walk up there like the early 1950’s into the early 1970’s, I walked those same tracks to the Strand Theater and Al’s Pool Room all the time. Everybody remembers Al’s Pool Room; we all did our ‘homework’ there.” • Scotty Mallett: “My father was working on an addition to the Spadafora’s Florist Shop on Pearl St. against the tracks and real close to Tricca’s when all the commotion drew his attention, he and his crew ran up the hill to the tracks behind them. I remember my father coming home white as a ghost telling us what had happened. So sad, so young.” • Cheryl Rowe: “My dad was one of the police officers at the scene, he was the police photographer at the time. I had never seen my dad so devastated about anything he had ever seen on the job before or after that day. Cannot imagine what the families went through.” • Claire Lester: “My dad was a firefighter at Pearl Street Station, one of the first at the scene. I never saw my dad so upset when he got home.” • June Garrity Fagan: “I remember the loss of these two classmates very well, and it affected me deeply. Somehow at that age we think of ourselves as invincible. Death of a contemporary is so surreal. I will never forget the loss I felt for these two, nor the sense of loss it imposed on our class as we progressed through Malden High.” • Michele Jesi Magner: “It was horrific. For many of us at Beebe, it was our first experience attending any type of services. Still remember it to this day.” • Kathy Thing-Lewis: “I remember this so well. We lived in Oak Grove. John would come over and hang out with us. We had a wooden fence out in front of our house, we used to sit on the rails of it and some of us carved our initials on the top of the posts that held the rails. John’s initials were there for years until the old fence came down. I remember riding in a car with someone from the Community Center in the Grove right after we heard about it and the radio was playing Cat Stevens’ ‘Moon Shadow.’ So very sad.” It is said in “Malden Musings”... • The beautifully painted crosswalks on Salem Street – somebody forgot to let those driving through them that the paint was still wet. Insert smiley face! • Here’s hoping that Bravo Pizza reinvents itself into something Malden Square can be proud of. • Best breakfast in Malden, as we all know, is at Cornucopia Foods in Malden Square. Homemade muffins, pies and other delights await you as well. But what caught my eye recently was a poster in the window informing Maldonians that they now serve hot dogs! Who doesn’t love a good hot dog? Neil, I’ll be in soon for a couple of dogs “all around,” as we used to say whenever we’d order a dog or two at Joe & Nemo’s! • I ventured out of Edgeworth on my walk last week. Newland Street and environs were my destination. Glad I did. I discovered what a lovely, quiet neighborhood that area is. Joe and I thought of you, Cathy Mac, as we walked past Miller Park. Thank you to all that have implored me to leave Edgeworth every once in a while. Insert smiley face. • If you are ever on Appleton Street, stop for a moment and marvel at the tree that lives at 32 Appleton – an incredible sight to behold. • See retired MATV big cheese Ronny Cox lately?! He looks relaxed, tanned and years younger! Add that cool, hipster-style half-modified “van dyke” beard, and Ronny is ready for his closeup! Love ya dude – stay young, my friend! As Peter Falk’s iconic TV character Columbo would say, “Just one more thing, sir” – a couple of weeks back I wrote about Officer Neville, who patrolled the streets of Malden at the turn of the last century. Then there is this...an always welcome comment from the “Pride of Maplewood,” Neil Kinnon: “Another great column Peter. Always enjoyable. Was on my morning walk through Holy Cross Cemetery today and walked past MPD Officer Neville’s grave (Abraham Neville 1860-1921). Often wonder about the people in those graves’ lives, particularly the ones with ties to Malden. You ensure with your keyboard/pen he is not forgotten and for a few days brought back to life.” Postscript: In the “book of life is brief” department, let’s remember Ermelinda “Mimi” Callahan, Gloria J. (Iaobacci) Pasciuto and Mary G. (Cocco) Smeglin one last time. “What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.”—Helen Keller Peter is a longtime Malden resident and a regular contributor to the Malden Advocate. He can be reached at PeteL39@ aol.com for comments, compliments or criticisms. Like us on Facebook advocate newspaper Facebook.com/Advocate.news.ma REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS BUYER1 MARTIN, DONNA K ZHENG, WEN Z BUYER2 HUMPHREYS, KIMBERLY J ZHENG, ROSE SELLER1 SULLIVAN, PRISCILLA K BRACKENBURY REALTY LLC SELLER2 Copyrighted material previously published in Banker & Tradesman/The Commercial Record, a weekly trade newspaper. It is reprinted with permission from the publisher, The Warren Group. For a searchable database of real estate transactions and property information visit: www.thewarrengroup.com. ADDRESS 52 FRANCIS ST 50-52 BRACKENBURY ST CITY MALDEN MALDEN DATE 06.01.23 05.31.23 PRICE 950000 850000

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