By Jason Oshins, Financial Advisor, MBA The role of a pilot is not limited to take-off and landing. Even while flying on autopilot, the pilot still must monitor the flight. The same can be said of the owner of a life insurance policy. The owner must monitor the insurance. Typically, life insurance is owned by an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT), a revocable trust, or outright by the insured. When owned by an ILIT[1], the death benefit is out of the grantor’s estate and thus not subject to either estate tax or income tax. When owned by a revocable trust[2]…
Supreme Court: No ERISA Protection for “Church-Affiliated” Retirement Plans Run by Hospitals, Health Care Facilities
By Edwin P. Morrow III, J.D., LL.M. (Tax), CFP®, CM&AA® On June 5, 2017, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling in Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton concerning whether ERISA applies to church affiliated non-profits that run hospitals and health care facilities: click here to view. It may erode certain retirement plan protections for employees of many hospitals and health care facilities loosely connected to churches, though the Court did not decide other arguments that may yet ultimately apply ERISA to them. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) generally obligates private employers offering pension plans to adhere…
Klabacka v. Nelson: Nevada Supreme Court Makes Historically Significant DAPT Ruling
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) One of Nevada’s advantages has always been that it is the only top-tier Domestic Asset Protection Trust (“DAPT”) jurisdiction that has no statutory exception creditors, meaning classes of creditors that can bust through a DAPT despite the DAPT’s protection from creditors. Practitioners from competing states have suggested that Nevada DAPT laws are “too protective” and therefore won’t work as advertised. However, on May 25, 2017, the Supreme Court of the State of Nevada, in a unanimous opinion, issued a written ruling for Klabacka v. Nelson, 133 Nev. Advance Opinion 24 (May 25, 2017)…