Download Printable Article By Steven J. Oshins Esq., AEP (Distinguished) What is Trust Decanting? For many years, practitioners have struggled to find ways to change the terms of an irrevocable trust. However, through common law and through the decanting statutes that have been enacted in many jurisdictions, it is now possible to modify an irrevocable trust. The rationale for allowing such a modification is that a trustee who has the power to distribute the trust property to or for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries should be able to make the distribution to them in trust and dictate the…
Why I’m Jealous of Advisors Who Are NOT in Top-Tier Trust Jurisdictions
Download Printable Article By Steven J. Oshins Esq., AEP (Distinguished) Trust practitioners often tell me that I am lucky to reside in a top-tier trust jurisdiction like Nevada that has excellent asset protection, valuation discount, decanting and dynasty trust laws, as well as no state income tax. However, they have it all wrong! Seriously. I largely have to rely on advisors outside of Nevada to refer me Nevada trust business, whereas practitioners in other jurisdictions have almost no competition among the local trust advisors since so few of them are taking advantage of out-of-state trust opportunities. Thus, the ability to…
Getting It Right the First Time
By Jason Oshins, Financial Advisor, MBA This article tells the unlikely account of a second chance and presents a framework for making sure protection is airtight. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. The whistle blows. At the count of “two”, my 9-year old son, Spence, kicks the soccer ball, and just as the whistle is blown, he’s on the ground writhing in pain. I sprint onto the field to comfort him. He says he can’t feel his wrist and can’t move his hand. Rewind to exactly one week before. I’ve been on the phone with his healthcare provider for over an…
David vs. Goliath: How Nevada Became a Leading Trust Jurisdiction
Download Printable Article By Steven J. Oshins Esq., AEP (Distinguished) “Always remember…Goliath was a 40-point favorite over David.” -Shug Jordan (1910-1980), athlete and football and basketball coach Many years ago, Delaware was considered the go-to trust jurisdiction. However, other jurisdictions enhanced their trust laws through the years, and the consensus now is that Nevada, South Dakota, Alaska and Delaware are the first-tier jurisdictions, at least in the minds of most trust practitioners. Delaware has always been the Goliath in the trust industry, whereas the other jurisdictions have served the role of David. But Delaware has made less material enhancements to…
Incomplete Gift, Non Grantor Trusts (aka DINGs, NINGs): Not Just for State Income Tax Avoidance
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”)….
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…
ABA Heckerling Reports from the 2016 Heckerling Institute
For the past 17 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, one of the nation’s largest estate planning conferences, held every year in January. This past January 2016, marked the 50th Annual Heckerling Institute. To view, download and access these extensive reports, please click here to visit the ABA’s website. Further, at the above website, you can also access reports from prior Heckerling Institutes as well. We, at The…
5 Things Every Estate Planning Attorney Needs to Know About Using an Asset Protection Single Member LLC
By Mason D. Salisbury, J.D. Single Member Limited Liability Companies (or “SMLLCs”) are the basic building blocks of asset protection entities. For many clients, SMLLCs may be the only asset protection entity they need. However, not all SMLLCs are created equal as asset protectors and some (too many) are hardly worth the paper they are filed on. An asset protection SMLLC is specifically organized at every point to fight and win against creditor attorneys, that is, to actually provide asset protection if challenged. Below are five things every estate planning attorney should know about using SMLLCs to protect client’s assets….
Cloud Still Hangs Over Validity of Nevada’s Perpetuities Law
Download Printable Article By Matthew D. Blattmachr, Trust Officer Despite the contention by some that the recent decision of the Nevada Supreme Court in Bullion Monarch Mining, Inc. v. Barrick Goldstrike Mines, Inc., 131 Nev. Advance Opinion 13 (Bullion) eliminates any question concerning the invalidity of the Nevada statute permitting trusts to last for 365 years, a careful review of this well written decision does not, in fact, seem to do so. In fact, the decision does not even appear related to trusts. The court frames the question it was asked to answer as “whether Nevada’s “Rule Against Perpetuities appl[ies]…