Download Printable Article By Edwin P. Morrow III, J.D., LL.M. (Tax), CFP®, RFC® There is increasingly becoming an important tool in their trust planning arsenal for high income taxpayers– the incomplete gift, non-grantor trust (“ING”). These trusts are often colloquially known as “DINGs” or “NINGs”, short for Delaware or Nevada Incomplete Gift Non Grantor Trusts, even though other states with similar strong DAPT laws, such as Alaska, South Dakota, Wyoming or Ohio, may also be used. Let’s explain the ING, why it’s used, what state limitations exist and how it can be used beyond state income tax avoidance. What is…
Hybrid DAPTs, Regular DAPTs and the Uniform Voidable Transactions Act
Download Printable Article By Steven J. Oshins Esq., AEP (Distinguished) A small minority of states have adopted the new Uniform Voidable Transactions Act (“UVTA”). This Act is actually not a new Act. It is supposedly merely a renamed version of the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act, but with certain changes. These changes include substantial Comments (i.e., comments made as a part of the UVTA by the Drafting Committee) that have generated controversy in large part because of their conclusive nature on certain open issues. This article will focus on those Comments that are specifically directed at Domestic Asset Protection Trusts (“DAPTs”)….
Five Outstanding Questions in the Estate Planning Industry and the Odds That They Will Happen
Download Printable Article By Steven J. Oshins Esq., AEP (Distinguished) There are always a number of outstanding questions in the estate planning industry, many of which are talked about over and over, seemingly at every large conference and on various listservs. Internet bloggers write about these questions, often making bold statements that sometimes come true, but in most cases turn out to be false. This article seeks to highlight some of these questions and posts the odds of them happening in this author’s opinion. The list is posted in order of those which are most likely to happen in 2016,…
Surprisingly Common and Dangerous – IRS Foreign Returns
Download Printable Article By Bruce Givner, Esq. Many taxpayers and most all tax professionals have heard about “FBARs” (Foreign Bank Account Reports, on Form TD F 90-22.1). Some taxpayers and most tax professionals are now also familiar with the Form 8938 Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets. However, virtually every taxpayer and most tax professionals are completely unaware of the top eight other IRS foreign information forms. In an increasingly interconnected international world, these forms are called for in a surprising number of situations. In fact, they may be all around you if you are not paying attention. Given the…
NEW Basic Teleconference Registration Added
You’ve spoken up and we’ve listened. Several of our customers have indicated that they would love to attend more than one of our teleconference programs, but it simply is not feasible to do so with how many we run each month. We are pleased to announce a new registration option that will make attending our teleconference programs far more affordable for our customers. We are pleased to announce the Basic Registration option, which allows our customers to attend a live teleconference program for as low as $99. The Basic Registration option gives you the PDF handout materials and access to…
The Top Six Estate Planning Concepts Your Future Ex-Spouse Doesn’t Want You to Know About
Download Printable Article By Steven J. Oshins Esq., AEP (Distinguished) Divorce can be ugly. But it’s a realistic possibility for anybody who is married. Therefore, estate planners must plan for it when designing their clients’ estate and asset protection plans. This article will highlight six concepts that can protect assets from a divorcing spouse and, in some cases, enhance or keep together the marital relationship — at least until the day of reckoning. The planning concepts described herein are listed in no particular order of importance. The “Floating Spouse Provision” – When designing a trust, unless there is a compelling…
Are Your Clients (And Their Older Relatives) Wasting Their $5.45 Million Coupon To Increase Tax Basis?
Download Printable Article By Edwin P. Morrow III, J.D., LL.M. (Tax), CFP®, RFC® For many taxpayers, the traditional trust design for married couples is now obsolete. The number of estates paying federal estate tax is minimal. Traditional AB trust designs risk incurring higher income taxes after the first death, and reduced basis increase at the second death. New trust designs can not only mitigate against this risk, but create income tax advantages over outright bequests. Practitioners must now consider the applicable exclusion amount not so much as a “coupon” to exempt estate tax, but a “coupon” to increase basis –…
Blue Sky Planning: Defining What’s Possible
By Jason Oshins, Financial Advisor, MBA As I view the world around me, I often consider the following question: “If we designed this from scratch, how would it look?” And frequently, it wouldn’t resemble what currently exists. How would, say, the airline industry look? What would be the structure of healthcare? Would women wear heels and men wear ties? If we could get thoughtful, provocative pragmatists in a room, what would they create? I often think about how this relates to financial planning – estate planning, investment planning, retirement planning, and insurance planning. In this article, I begin with the aforementioned…
Did Law School Fail You?
Download Printable Article By Kristina Schneider, Executive Assistant Graduating law school is quite an accomplishment for anyone. But, with the growing popularity of becoming a lawyer, there’s an over-saturation of graduates and simply not enough lawyering jobs to employ those coming out of law school. Burdened by thousands of dollars of school loan debt and a desire to put to use the countless hours of hard work they put into it, many lawyers have been (or will be) forced to start up their own practice, whether they wanted to or not. And this is where most people are going to…
The Top Eight Trust Jurisdictions If There Was a Jurisdictional Super Bowl
Download Printable Article By Steven J. Oshins Esq., AEP (Distinguished) The jurisdictional competition for state trust law supremacy is similar to the National Football League’s biggest annual event — the Super Bowl. Every year there are changes to state statutes that create more and more competition among the most proactive trust jurisdictions. The adrenaline and effort put forth by the trust promoters often equals or exceeds that of an NFL football player. If there were Jurisdictional Playoffs ending in a big game called the Jurisdictional Super Bowl, the question is, “Who would win the big game?” The Competitors Alaska, Delaware,…