By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) Read nearly every trust drafted by nearly every law firm and you’ll see provisions that make mandatory distributions at staggered ages. Why is this done? I have no idea. Maybe because their standard “form” trust agreement does that??? Is it good planning? Absolutely not! STAGGERED DISTRIBUTION TRUST A “Staggered Distribution Trust” is a trust that makes mandatory staggered distributions upon the beneficiary reaching staggered ages. The most widely-used provisions distribute one-third at age 25, one-half of the balance at age 30 and the balance at age 35. The philosophy of doing this is…
Tips for Managing the Top 5 Interruptions at the Workplace
By Kristina Schneider, Practice-Building & Marketing Specialist One of the most costly killers of productivity in the workplace is interruptions. There are some startling statistics about how much interruptions really cost a business. It is believed that interruptions can cost a company up to over 6 hours per day in productivity, which equates to over 30 hours in a week (almost an entire full-time employee!). It’s also estimated that social media alone costs the U.S. economy over $650 billion per year in all of the lost production. Crazy, right? Interruptions are pretty much impossible to avoid, but there are definitely…
The Biden Estate Tax Cliff: Gifting Like it’s 2012 All Over Again!
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) Those estate planning attorneys who were in practice in 2012 surely remember the last few months of the year when prospective clients were calling and emailing all day long every day literally begging us to take “just one more client”! There was a mad rush to make $5 million gifts before the estate tax exemption was going to drop back down when the clock struck midnight at the end of 12/31/2012. Most of the experienced attorneys were so busy that they stopped taking new clients in October or November. FAST FORWARD TO 2020…
6th Annual Non-Grantor Trust State Income Tax Chart Released!
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) Different states have different rules as to what creates a “resident trust” that is subject to taxation in that state. States may tax a trust based on the residency of the settlor or testator, based on whether there is a resident trustee or beneficiary or whether there is administration in that state, or for a combination of these factors and/or other similar factors. So it isn’t as easy as simply situsing a trust in a state with no state income tax. You have to look at the state taxing statutes that may apply….
Summer Vacation Might Be Different This Year, But Be Sure to Take a Break!
By Kristina Schneider, Practice-Building & Marketing Specialist There is no denying that this summer feels is different. No, let me actually just call it for what it is—IT IS WEIRD! With all that’s going on in 2020, there’s no telling what tomorrow will bring (did we miss the murder hornets, cause it feels like we skipped those…). This comes as here in California, we just got ordered back to working from home and a lot of things that just opened up less than a month ago are closed back up. All that being said, I have found myself thinking that…
The Inheritor’s Trust: How I Want to Inherit from Mommy and Daddy
By Tiffany A. Oshins The term “Inheritor’s Trust” was service marked at the Patent & Trademark Office by my Daddy (Steve Oshins), my Grandpa (Richard Oshins) and another attorney (Noel Ice) in 2003. They abandoned the service mark in 2006 after the Patent & Trademark Office determined it to have become a term of common usage. Despite the abandonment of the service mark, the estate planning industry continues to use the term. As a potential future inheritor, I would like to receive all gifts and bequests from Mommy and Daddy in an Inheritor’s Trust. This article will explain this concept…
Check-In With Your Employees (and Yourself!) Right Now
By Kristina Schneider, Practice-Building & Marketing Specialist 2020 is certainly not letting up with its challenges and difficult events to work through. It feels like an eternity since I was at DFW airport boarding a plane back to Los Angeles, getting the devastating breaking news that Kobe Bryant had just died in a helicopter crash. And, it feels like ever since then, month after month, there was just more and more difficult things to process. From a business perspective, I bring awareness to all that’s going on, because we are all human. We are all experiencing what’s going on right…
U.S. States Not Reporting Recoveries | Coronavirus Stock Market Insight Series
We have invited Harvard educated economist, Dryden Pence – – who regularly appears on TV at Fox Business News, CNBC, and Bloomberg Business – – to address the burning questions in the minds of so many estate planners (and their clients) during these difficult times. This will be the 7th video of Dryden’s “Coronavirus Stock Market Insight” series. Market volatility, news headlines, and reported government responses to this pandemic can be unsettling, alarming, and confusing. The management at Pence Wealth Management has years of experience in navigating confusing market turbulence. Source: YouTube DISCLOSURE: The opinions voiced in this material are for…
The Estate Planning “Perfect Storm”
An Interview with Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) Nationally-known estate planning attorney Steve Oshins and nationally-known CPA Bob Keebler recently gave a joint teleconference for us entitled, “Estate Planning Techniques in a Time of Low Interest Rates”. In that presentation, Steve and Bob coined the term “PERFECT STORM” to reflect the current estate planning environment. We interviewed Steve after the session and are pleased to bring to you highlights from the transcript of the interview. UEP: Why did you and Bob call the current estate planning environment the “PERFECT STORM”? SO: We did so for two reasons. First of…
Road to Recovery | Coronavirus Stock Market Insight Series
We have invited Harvard educated economist, Dryden Pence – – who regularly appears on TV at Fox Business News, CNBC, and Bloomberg Business – – to address these burning questions in the minds of so many estate planners (and their clients) during these difficult times, including but not limited to: How bad will this Coronavirus pandemic get? How long will it last? How will it affect the economy? How will the Federal Stimulus work? When will businesses re-open? What can we expect in the stock market in the coming months? Source: YouTube DISCLOSURE: The opinions voiced in this material are for…