By Martin M. Shenkman, CPA, MBA, PFS, AEP (Distinguished), J.D. The Biden Administration may reduce the exemption retroactively, perhaps even to January 1, 2021! It’s best to protect against a retroactive tax change. Retroactive tax changes sound unfair! Even Taylor Swift said: “It’s hard to fight when the fight ain’t fair.” But we’ll tell you how to fight that unfair tax fight! The law permits a retroactive tax change. See: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation v. R. A. Gray & Co., 467 U. S. 717 (1984); United States v. Carlton, 512 U.S. 26 (1994). The need for revenue, or the desire…
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Oshins: Staggered Distribution Trust versus Dynasty Trust
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) Testing his theory that in every man dwells a good and an evil force, the reserved Dr. Jekyll develops a formula that separates the two, turning him into an argumentative estate planning attorney named Mr. Oshins who tells it like it is. Dr. Jekyll soon realizes he is becoming addicted to his darker self as he unleashes his opinions on the estate planning industry. In this article, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Oshins tackle the differences between a Staggered Distribution Trust and a Dynasty Trust. As expected, Mr. Oshins will provide a different view…
The Beneficiary Controlled Trust as the Centerpiece of the Estate Plan
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) INTRODUCTION Most estate planning attorneys draft trusts that make mandatory distributions to the beneficiaries upon reaching certain ages. For example, many trusts pay out one-third upon the beneficiary reaching age 25, one-half of the balance upon the beneficiary reaching age 30 and the balance upon the beneficiary reaching age 35. This is commonly known as a Staggered Distribution Trust since the distributions are staggered over different time periods. The philosophy used in this type of trust design is that the beneficiaries have multiple opportunities to learn from their mistakes. However, Staggered Distribution Trusts…
Which Type of Trust is Most Important for Top 1% Financial Advisors to Know About?
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) Are you a financial advisor? If so, you’re likely compensated in large part based on assets under management. Therefore, your interests are aligned with those of our clients. The better you do for them, the better you do for yourself. THE STATE INCOME TAX DRAG Just as it is frustrating for our clients in states with a state income tax to pay that tax on taxable dividends and capital gains, it must be nearly as frustrating for the financial advisor whose income is also adversely affected by this state income tax drag. What if…
Situs Your Trust in a First-Tier Trust Jurisdiction
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) and Mark Dreschler Not all jurisdictions have favorable trust laws. In fact, most jurisdictions’ trust laws are inferior in comparison to those of the first-tier trust jurisdictions. Despite the limitations found in most trust jurisdictions laws, estate planners generally limit their planning to the client’s home jurisdiction. This article will provide multiple reasons not to do so and will explain some of the opportunities that are lost by failing to consider a top trust jurisdiction. COMMON REASONS TO SITUS A TRUST IN A TOP-TIER TRUST JURISDICTION Following are some of the common reasons…
Trustasaurus: The Gradual Extinction of the Age 25, 30 and 35 Trust
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) Read nearly every trust drafted by nearly every law firm and you’ll see provisions that make mandatory distributions at staggered ages. Why is this done? I have no idea. Maybe because their standard “form” trust agreement does that??? Is it good planning? Absolutely not! STAGGERED DISTRIBUTION TRUST A “Staggered Distribution Trust” is a trust that makes mandatory staggered distributions upon the beneficiary reaching staggered ages. The most widely-used provisions distribute one-third at age 25, one-half of the balance at age 30 and the balance at age 35. The philosophy of doing this is…
The Inheritor’s Trust: How I Want to Inherit from Mommy and Daddy
By Tiffany A. Oshins The term “Inheritor’s Trust” was service marked at the Patent & Trademark Office by my Daddy (Steve Oshins), my Grandpa (Richard Oshins) and another attorney (Noel Ice) in 2003. They abandoned the service mark in 2006 after the Patent & Trademark Office determined it to have become a term of common usage. Despite the abandonment of the service mark, the estate planning industry continues to use the term. As a potential future inheritor, I would like to receive all gifts and bequests from Mommy and Daddy in an Inheritor’s Trust. This article will explain this concept…
The Estate Planning “Perfect Storm”
An Interview with Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) Nationally-known estate planning attorney Steve Oshins and nationally-known CPA Bob Keebler recently gave a joint teleconference for us entitled, “Estate Planning Techniques in a Time of Low Interest Rates”. In that presentation, Steve and Bob coined the term “PERFECT STORM” to reflect the current estate planning environment. We interviewed Steve after the session and are pleased to bring to you highlights from the transcript of the interview. UEP: Why did you and Bob call the current estate planning environment the “PERFECT STORM”? SO: We did so for two reasons. First of…
FREE Hybrid Domestic Asset Protection Trust Client Acquisition Slideshow
Nationally renowned estate and asset protection attorney, Steven J. Oshins, J.D., AEP (Distinguished), has released a FREE Hybrid Domestic Asset Protection Trust (“Hybrid DAPT”) client acquisition slideshow. Whether you’re an attorney, CPA, financial advisor, life insurance agent or trust officer, spend less than 8 minutes to check out this slideshow and use this free tool to educate yourself, your clients, and your prospective clients on the Hybrid DAPT concept! DIRECT LINK Related Education If you’re interested in learning more about the Hybrid DAPT, you might also be interested in the On-Demand presentation that Steve Oshins has on this topic. For…
The 11th Annual DAPT State Rankings Chart Released!
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) It’s that time of year again! The time when estate planners hold their breath, anxiously awaiting the release of the Annual Domestic Asset Protection Trust State Rankings Chart. Where will their favored jurisdiction land? The 11th Annual Domestic Asset Protection Trust State Rankings Chart was created to serve as a single page guide to various states’ DAPT statutes. The states are ranked based on various material factors that are important in selecting a situs for the trust. Although the weights that are applied to different variables are subjective, the methodology used is likely very similar…