Every January, The University of Miami School of Law sponsors one of the nation’s largest estate planning conferences, The Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning. Also, for the past 16 years, the American Bar Association Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law with the permission of the University of Miami School of Law, releases several extensive reports highlighting the various lectures and proceedings of the Heckerling Institute. To view, download and access these extensive reports, please visit: http://www.americanbar.org/groups/real_property_trust_estate/events_cle/heckerling_reports/heckerling_2015.html Further, at the above website, you can also access reports from prior Heckerling Institutes as well. We, at The Ultimate Estate Planner,…
BREAKING NEWS: Important Updates from Robert Keebler
Thanks to the generosity of Stephan Leimberg and Leimberg Information Services, we are pleased to bring to you complimentary podcasts on the following important updates. IRS Approves Extension of Time to Recharacterize a Roth IRA The IRS has published Private Letter Ruling 201506015, in which they have granted the taxpayer an extension of time to recharacterize a Roth IRA. The taxpayer had learned that the account value had declined due to fraud by an investment manager after the deadline for recharacterizing had passed. To listen to these complimentary podcast, see below: The Administration’s 2016 Budget Proposals The Administration has released…
Decanting an Irrevocable Trust – The Process
Download Printable Article By Steven J. Oshins Esq., AEP (Distinguished) Our clients often set up and fund an irrevocable trust and then come back to us wanting to change the trust terms. This even sometimes happens within a matter of days of funding the trust. Human nature is such that people often change their minds. And it is also likely that circumstances will change after the trust has been funded. We also often review our clients’ and prospects’ existing trusts and find that they weren’t drafted very well. Just as our clients often want to change their irrevocable trusts, advisors…
Robert Keebler Podcasts on 2016 Budget Proposals
Reproduced with Permission by and Courtesy of Leimberg Information Services, Inc. (LISI). For information about how to subscribe to LISI, click here. Nationally renowned CPA and tax planning expert, Robert S. Keebler, CPA/PFS, MST, AEP (Distinguished), CGMA, recently produced three podcasts with commentary regarding the Administration’s 2016 Budget Proposals. To listen to these complimentary podcasts, see below: © Copyright 2015. Reproduction in Any Form or Forwarding to Any Person Prohibited – Without Express Permission.
Dahl v. Dahl: Utah Supreme Court Rules Trust Not a Domestic Asset Protection Trust!
Reproduced with Permission by and Courtesy of Leimberg Information Services, Inc. (LISI). For information about how to subscribe to LISI, click here. “The Court specifically uses the terms ‘strong public policy’ and ‘repugnant’ in their analysis. Query how they might have ruled had this been a defendant in a negligence action, for example, rather than it being a divorce matter. Would the Court still have applied Utah law under its ‘strong public policy’ and ‘repugnant’ requirements? It appears that the answer would be ‘no’ given this requirement that it be a ‘strong public policy’ and ‘repugnant,’ but this is far…
The 3.8% Surtax for Trusts & Estates
By Robert S. Keebler, CPA/PFS, MST, AEP (Distinguished), CGMA Executive Summary The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 created a 3.8 percent surtax on certain net investment income effective for tax years beginning on and after January 1, 2013. The tax applies to estates and certain trusts as well as to individuals. Given the low income threshold at which the tax begins to apply, the tax will have broad application to trusts and estates. This article summarizes application of the 3.8% surtax to trusts and estates and offers some initial planning ideas What Trusts are Subject to the…
2nd Annual Trust Decanting State Rankings Chart Released!
By Steven J. Oshins, J.D., AEP (Distinguished) The 2nd Annual Trust Decanting State Rankings Chart was released earlier this week. This year’s chart includes more variables than were included in last year’s chart. The additional attributes were added in order to provide the end user with as many details as possible so the best jurisdiction can be selected based on the desired decanting or, with respect to a newly-formed irrevocable trust, the best jurisdiction to maximize future decanting flexibility. What is Decanting? Trust decanting is the act of distributing assets from one trust to a new trust with different terms….
Download the 2nd Annual Trust Decanting State Rankings Chart
Decanting has become a very popular technique in the estate planning world. We are pleased to announce that nationally renowned estate planning and asset protection attorney, Steven J. Oshins, J.D., AEP (Distinguished), has just released his second annual Trust Decanting State Rankings Chart. To request a complimentary copy of his chart, complete the form below. REQUEST FREE CHART All 22 states with decanting statutes are ranked in this chart. In particular, this year’s chart has additional variables which were not included in last year’s chart. The Top 7 decanting jurisdictions are… South Dakota: Total Score = 99.5 Nevada: Total…
Beware of Standard Provisions in LP & LLC Documents
They can inadvertently divest your client’s family from controlling the business or cost millions in additional estate, gift or income taxes! By Edwin Morrow, J.D., LL.M., MBA, CFP®, RFC® Investors increasingly use limited liability companies, limited liability partnerships or limited partnerships (“LLCs”, “LLPs” and “LPs”) to operate a trade or business, to hold real estate or hold other investment assets, as opposed to state law corporations. When only immediate family are owners, these are often referred to as family limited partnerships or limited liability companies (“FLPs” and “FLLCs”). There are numerous business, asset protection and estate planning reasons for using…
The Art of Roth Recharacterizations
By Robert S. Keebler, CPA/PFS, MST, AEP (Distinguished), CGMA For affluent taxpayers Roth Conversions provide a significant opportunity to move funds from a tax deferred environment (as is the case with traditional IRAs) into a tax-free environment (as is the case with Roth IRAs) at a relatively reasonable current income tax cost. In general, there are eight reasons why a person may want to consider converting to a Roth IRA: Special favorable tax attributes (e.g., charitable deduction carryforwards, net operating losses (NOLs), investment tax credits, excess itemized deductions, high basis nondeductible traditional IRAs, etc.) can be taken advantage of. The…