Impact of Potential Tax Reform on Business Owners and Possible Steps to Take in 2017

By Edwin P. Morrow III, J.D., LL.M. (Tax), CFP®, CM&AA® On November 2, 2017, the Speaker of the House, with the backing of the President, finally introduced the long-awaited bill that represents Republican efforts at comprehensive tax reform, to be titled the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act”. Of course, the Senate will propose significant changes, and there is opposition from both parties about the direction of the bill and the trillions it could add to the national debt. That said, there is a very strong chance of something close to the bill being passed this year or early next year. What are…

Will New Legislation Kill Stretchout and the IRA Trust?

By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Over the past couple of years, I have had a lot of colleagues ask me if pending legislation to limit IRA stretchout would then kill the IRA Inheritance Trust®.  For some time, nothing was certain.  Details of proposed legislation were vague and it was not clear exactly how it would affect IRA planning. Finally, in September of last year, under the assumption that a change in the IRA stretch law would bring in $5.5 billion over the next 10…

FAKE NEWS!

By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Since I first rolled out my “IRA Inheritance Trust®” in 2001 and got the breakthrough positive IRS ruling in 2005 (PLR 200537044), many critics have circulated “alternative facts” about the trust that are simply untrue. Unfortunately, no matter how often I’ve fought off these various unwarranted attacks, the same ones keep reappearing from the dark recesses of the internet.  Worse yet, these are believed as gospel by many estate planners who could otherwise be doing their clients and their…

IRA Trusts: Conduit or Accumulation?

Download Printable Article By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Recently, I’ve seen and heard a great deal of debate regarding the proper way to draft an IRA Trust (or what I call an IRA Inheritance Trust® and is also known as a Standalone IRA Trust and Standalone IRA Beneficiary Trust). The debate centers around whether the individual beneficiaries’ subshare trusts should, as a “default” position, be structured as conduit or accumulation trusts. Before I address this issue, let’s briefly deal with some background matters. First,…

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…

With Estate Tax Planning Basically Dead, Here’s a Trust You Should Be Selling to a Lot of Your Clients

By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law It’s not a Living Trust (but it does have broad application). Nor is it an Asset Protection or Medicaid Trust (though it does have some asset protection features). And, thanks to a recent Supreme Court decision, this Trust has been made even better (or more valuable). Okay, here it is. The Standalone Retirement Trust (or “IRA Beneficiary Trust”, or, as I call it, the “IRA Inheritance Trust®”). It’s simply a trust that acts as beneficiary of a client’s IRAs…

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…

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…

Our Top 10 Best Articles on Tax & IRA Planning

As part of our December 2014 Newsletter, we are featuring a special “Best Of” issue.  Below, you will find a list of our Top 10 Articles on Tax and IRA Planning.  All of these articles were authored and written by Robert S. Keebler, CPA, PFS, MST, AEP (Distinguished), CGMA. Beneficiary Designation Problems with IRAs: More Than Just the RMD Rules! (with Kristen M. Lynch, J.D., AEP, CISP, CTFA) PLR Opens Door to Post-Death Exchanges of Non-Qualified Annuities Tax-Free! (with Michael E. Kitces, MSFS, MTAX, CFP®, CLU, ChFC, RHU, REBC, CASL) Frank Aragona Trust: What Now Constitutes Trustee “Material Participation”? Understanding…

Watch a Complimentary Webinar on Recent Updates for Inherited IRAs

Robert Keebler, CPA, MST, AEP (Distinguished), CGMA, and Michael J. Jones, CPA recently presented a webinar for Trusts & Estates Magazine, discussing recent updates on Inherited IRAs. The update includes a discussion of the recent Supreme Court decision in Clark v. Rameker case. Trusts & Estates has generously agreed to allow us to share a complimentary link to the archived webinar.  To view this On-Demand Webinar, click here.