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]…

If You’re Doing Seminars (or Are Thinking About Doing Them) Your Staff Better Know About and Be Handling These Important Details!

Download Printable Article By Kristina Schneider, Executive Assistant The common saying “The devil is in the details” is probably never more true than when it comes to seminar marketing. Whenever I’m discussing seminar marketing with attorneys, it becomes pretty clear to me that a lot of estate planning attorneys are overlooking a number of key details that should be completed. Successful seminar marketing is the result that comes from the compound effect of a lot of steps to be handled during the planning process, just before the seminar, during the seminar, and right after. Even missing one or two of…

The Two-Year Installment Sale

Download Printable Article By Robert S. Keebler, CPA/PFS, MST, AEP (Distinguished), CGMA From 2003 to 2012, the long-term capital gains rate was 5% for taxpayers in the two lowest ordinary income tax brackets and 15% for all other taxpayers. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) added new progressivity to the tax rates, setting the long-term capital gains rate at 0% for the 10% and 15% ordinary income tax brackets, 15% for the 25% and 35% ordinary income brackets and 20% for the 39.6% ordinary income tax bracket. This progressivity greatly increases the importance of spreading out large long-term…

Nevada Supreme Court Approves 365-Year Dynasty Trusts and Sends a Message

Download Printable Article By Steven J. Oshins Esq., AEP (Distinguished) In a unanimous opinion issued on March 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the State of Nevada made a bold statement by ratifying the Nevada 365-year rule against perpetuities in the case of Bullion Monarch Mining, Inc. v. Barrick Goldstrike Mines, Inc., 131 Nev. Advance Opinion 13 (2015). Although the 365-year perpetuities law was already firmly engraved in the Nevada statutes and therefore this court case should have gone largely unnoticed, it was the message sent by the Nevada Supreme Court Justices to a small group of anti-Nevada promoters that…