When you play golf you carefully select which club you will use for each shot. You likely consider the topography of where the ball is located, distance to the green, and other factors. Your trust planning should be no different. You should carefully select which of the many different types of trusts you use to…
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) has changed income tax planning in many ways. Several of these beneficial tax changes are the enhanced deductions for Qualified Business Income (QBI) under Code Sec. 199A, the exclusion for certain gains on Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) under Code Sec. 1202, and the enhanced State and Local…
Life Insurance held in trust- should it be surrendered if estate tax no longer relevant? Can it be repurposed? Basis planning, does OBBBA affect it? What should be done now? Ancillary considerations with basis- should a trust be busted to get a step up? What about asset protection, Medicaid planning, spendthrift heirs, etc. Incomplete vs…
If you or any of your heirs identify as LGBTQ+ it may be beneficial to consider a novel planning concept that might help protect your loved ones from various issues that might arise. This may entail appointing a person as a trust protector, and giving them specified limited powers to appoint trust assets. This may…
There are several valuable benefits to using revocable trusts other than just avoiding probate.
This webinar explores timely planning opportunities at both ends of the charitable remainder trust (CRT) lifecycle. The SECURE Act’s 10-year payout rule effectively eliminated the traditional “stretch” IRA. By naming a CRT as the beneficiary of an IRA, clients can restore multi-decade payouts for heirs, reduce income taxes during the critical post-death period, and preserve…
Originally posted to Forbes.com Many taxpayers created irrevocable trusts and transferred significant assets to them to hopefully save estate tax. Others were named as beneficiaries of trusts that others may have created. Following recent tax law changes does the existing trust plan really work? Assets in most irrevocable trusts won’t receive a basis step up…
While trusts have always been created to protect beneficiaries, more can be done to help beneficiaries benefit from the wealth that is bequeathed not actually “to” them, but for them. So-called “Well-Being Trusts” are consistent with a growing trend to be more inclusive of what can – and perhaps should – be provided for beneficiaries…
Domestic Asset Protection Trusts (DAPTs) were upheld in a recent DE case. Subsequent to that the defendants was tagged in a CO decision Can IV Packard Square LLC v. Harbor Real Estate Company, LLC and Craig E. Schubiner, No. 23-cv-00934-CYC (D. Colo. Sept. 22, 2025). Does that impact DAPT or asset protection planning? There is…
Including a trust protector in your estate plan may be a powerful tool to provide flexibility, checks and balances on a trustee and more. A trustee is a person designated in a trust agreement who may be given the powers state law permits. State law varies so you always have to check with an attorney…