Hambleton v. Department of Revenue

f 1 In 2013, the legislature amended the Estate and Transfer Tax Act, chapter 83.100 RCW, in response to our decision in In re Estate of Bracken, 175 Wn.2d 549, 290 P.3d 99 (2012), in which we narrowly-construed the term “transfer.” The amendment allows the Department of Revenue (DOR) to tax qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) as part of a surviving spouse’s estate. A QTIP trust is created by a deceased spouse and gives the surviving spouse a life interest in the income or use of trust property. See 26 U.S.C. § 2056(b)(7)(B)(i)-(ii). The advantage of QTIP trusts is that no estate…