to commute

English translation: settle/change terms of repayment

16:46 Jan 2, 2011

English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Bus/Financial - Law: Taxation & Customs

English term or phrase: to commute

I'm translating a person's last will and testament. The version I'm working on is a verbatim copy of the form published here: http://www.lectlaw.com/forms/f183.htm

I can't quite make up my mind about which meaning of the word ''to commute'' applies in this case. I've looked up dictionaries, even the proz glossary, but I still don't know which to choose:

''To pay my just debts, funeral, and testamentary expenses, and all estate, legacy, succession and inheritance taxes and duties (if any), whether imposed by or pursuant to the law of any domestic or foreign jurisdiction whatsoever, that may be payable in connection with the property passing (or deemed to pass by any governing law) on my death or in connection with any insurance on my life or in connection with any gift or benefit given or provided by me either in my lifetime or by the survivorship or by this my Will or any Codicil thereto, and whether such taxes and duties payable in respect of estates or interests which fall into possession at my death or any subsequent time; and I hereby authorize my Trustees to commute or repay any such taxes or duties.''

TIA

Grzegorz Mysiński KudoZ activity Questions: 1925 (none open) (45 closed without grading) Answers: 1782 Poland
Local time: 21:36

Selected answer:settle/change terms of repayment

Explanation:
By either paying as a lump sum and/or reducing the amount due in lieu of litigating.

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Note added at 11 mins (2011-01-02 16:58:40 GMT)
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Examples of usage:

The Service ruled that it will not allow a gift or estate tax charitable contribution deduction if the trustee could commute and prepay the lead unitrust interest before the specified term ends.

http://books.google.com/books?id=AgMxu5OgbsoC&pg=PA446&lpg=P...

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Note added at 19 mins (2011-01-02 17:06:20 GMT)
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The right of the trustee to commute and prepay the annuity deprives the charitable beneficiary of the right to receive payments of a fixed amount over a specified term. Accordingly, the trust failed to qualify for a charitable deduction.
http://books.google.com/books?id=OONYE8-Y0YkC&pg=SA8-PA75&dq...

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Note added at 24 mins (2011-01-02 17:11:25 GMT)
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The previous two were examples of paying as a lump sum for tax reasons (which is probably the concern of your will).

Here is "commutation" used with regard to a settlement (your context is probably closer to the examples done for tax reasons as in the previous two examples).

A commutation is a lump sum payment of future benefits. A commutation may be part of an agreement for settlement but may be used after an award is made in a contested case decision.
http://www.iowaworkforce.org/wc/settlement.htm

Selected response from:

Deborah Hoffman
Local time: 15:36

Grading comment

Thank you Deborah!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

4 +2

settle/change terms of repayment

Deborah Hoffman

to Compensate/Make up

Komeil Zamani Babgohari

Discussion entries: 9

Polangmar

Poland

14:24 Sep 10, 2011

Definitely "prepay": http://www.proz.com/kudoz/4508863 .
"Commute or repay taxes" has only 3 hits (the fourth is irrelevant: http://tinyurl.com/43h6o2j ) against about 24 hits with "commute or prepay" (http://tinyurl.com/4542g93 ).

Polangmar

Poland

21:42 Jan 3, 2011

So:
alter/change the payment method

Polangmar

Poland

21:40 Jan 3, 2011

Within the last eight years in the districts adjacent to the town of Kandy, this annual assessment has been commuted, with the consent of the proprietors, for the annual payment of a given quantity of grain, without annual assessment till the end of the year 1830...
http://tinyurl.com/28rl7c2

Deborah Hoffman

03:18 Jan 3, 2011

It's a way of avoiding (attempting to avoid?) estate tax, by having the amount included in the estate, and therefore subject to tax, ultimately be less.
http://aaluwr.org/displayreport.php?wrID=1173

Polangmar

Poland

00:07 Jan 3, 2011

...and I hereby authorize my Trustees to defer, commute or prepay any such taxes or duties.
http://tinyurl.com/3yhqqt9

I think "prepay" makes better sense here.

Deborah Hoffman

22:19 Jan 2, 2011

One of the many reasons someone should not use a form from the Internet to settle their affairs!

Sharon Toh, MITI MCIL

Singapore

I think it should be 'repay'

21:00 Jan 2, 2011

These taxes or duties will only be incurred after the testator's death. He/she is authorising his/her trustee to pay the taxes, since he/she will no longer be around by then. All the actions stated in the Will only take place after the testator dies. Commute or repay the taxes basically means to clear off any outstanding taxes. To me, it doesn't make sense to prepay such taxes. This is what I understand from the source text.

Grzegorz Mysiński

Poland

ASKER

20:39 Jan 2, 2011

In my text it definitely says ''repay'', but you may have a point there, Google shows both versions: http://tinyurl.com/2whfhbh

Tony M

France

repay or prepay?

20:29 Jan 2, 2011

I notice that in the first reference provided by Deborah H., the word seems to be 'prepay', which would appear to me to make more sense than 'repay'. Can you confirm if there is a typo in your source text, or in your transcription of it?

Answers

12 mins confidence:

to Compensate/Make up

Explanation:
.

Komeil Zamani Babgohari
Iran
Local time: 23:06
Native speaker of:

Persian (Farsi)

9 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

settle/change terms of repayment

Deborah Hoffman
Local time: 15:36
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4

Grading comment

Thank you Deborah!

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