The Nevada Asset Protection Trust: Why Nevada is the Leading Jurisdiction…Period!

Download Printable Article By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) There are now 17 states with statutes allowing Domestic Asset Protection Trusts (“DAPTs”).  Nevada is the best of those states.  Period. That’s not just the conclusion of this author.  Rather, it appears to be the conclusion reached by the high majority of the estate planning industry, including unbiased planners.  This article will not only explain why Nevada is such an asset protection trust powerhouse, but it will also explain how the Nevada Asset Protection Trust works so those planners who are not currently making use of this opportunity can now…

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…

Portability Trivia

By Brandon Ketron & Alan S. Gassman J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), Florida State Bar Certified Specialist in Wills, Trusts & Estates, AEP (Distinguished) A review of the Portability Rules at the Heckerling Institute gives rise to the following trivia, which estate tax planning lawyers should perhaps be memorizing: True or False [the answers are at the end of this article, but see how much you know]: 1. Under Section 20.2010-2(a), the portability election can only be made on a timely filed and complete estate tax return Form 706. 2. Estates that are required to file the Form 706 ( i.e. estates…

Oshins’ Motions: Seven Estate Planning Motions for Consideration

By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) In an official hearing, a “motion” is a formal proposal made to the group to take or not take an intended action.  This article will put forth seven motions for consideration in the estate planning industry. Motion #1:  I hereby make a motion that from this day forward nobody shall continue to claim that Domestic Asset Protection Trusts don’t work. Result- Motion Granted:  It has been 20 years since the first Domestic Asset Protection Trust statute was enacted.  In this period of time, to this date there still hasn’t been even one non-bankruptcy,…

Trust Administration: Why it Should be a Part of Your Practice

By Kristin L. Yokomoto, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation) As an estate planner, you help your clients to achieve extremely important goals including, among other things, to nominate guardians for minors; avoid probate; minimize gift, estate and generation skipping transfer taxes; protect their children and other beneficiaries’ inheritance from creditors and predators; and nominate agents, trustees and executors who will manage their estate and make decisions for them upon incapacity or death. It can be a very fulfilling and rewarding process for both you and your clients during which time they necessarily share some of their most private information – marriage and…

Three Ways Your Business Planning Practice May Be Impacted by Republican Tax Reform Proposals

By Jennifer L. Villier, JD | Legal Education Faculty, WealthCounsel On the heels of his inauguration, President Trump quickly got to work exercising his executive authority to implement some of his campaign proposals. With a stroke of his pen, President Trump has frozen pending regulations, increased border security measures, frozen federal hiring, withdrawn from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and prioritized deportation of undocumented immigrants. President Trump has stressed that putting “America first” by protecting our borders and bolstering small businesses are fundamental to his objective of driving domestic economic growth. While we await developments on proposed tax reform, we can prepare…

Robert Keebler Podcast on the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2017

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. Senate Bill 205, the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2017 Senate Bill 205, the Death Tax Repeal Act of 2017, would not only repeal the estate tax — it would also eliminate a technique designed to reduce state income tax, the ING trust. Bob Keebler reports. LISI members can read more about S. 205 and other estate tax repeal proposals in Estate Planning Newsletter No. 2516 by Ed Morrow, published on February 10, 2017. To…

My Three Sons – Planning for Children of All Ages

By Alan S. Gassman J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), Florida State Bar Certified Specialist in Wills, Trusts & Estates, AEP (Distinguished) In the 1960’s sitcom, My Three Sons, Fred MacMurray played the thoughtful and patient parent of three adolescent and teenage boys, who learned many interesting lessons living a wholesome life in suburban American. Parents with children of all ages need guidance in a number of areas that are typically not mentioned during an estate or financial planning meeting. The planner who brings up the discussion points set forth below will certainly be providing his or her clients with better tailored planning…

Technique of the Month: Decanting to Remove a Mandatory Income Interest

Download Printable Article By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) Trust decanting is the act of distributing assets from one trust to a new trust with different terms.  Just as one can decant wine by pouring it from its original bottle into a new bottle, leaving the unwanted sediment in the original bottle, one can pour the assets from one trust into a new trust, leaving the unwanted terms in the original trust. Which States Allow a Decanting to Removing a Mandatory Income Interest? There are now 25 states that have decanting statutes.  Of the 25 states, only six of…

Free Webinar – Estate Planning in 2017 & Beyond

Courtesy of WealthCounsel, LLC Ever since 2001, the keyword for estate tax planning has been “flexibility.” Thanks to a 10-year phased-in temporary estate tax repeal, followed by a massive economic recession, and then followed by the Tax Act of 2012 that effectively repealed estate tax for all but 0.2% of the population in the United States, estate planning has been anything but predictable or boring.  Fast forward to 2017, estate planners are left wondering… “What will the Republican-controlled Senate and the Donald Trump Presidency bring in terms of tax changes and how will that impact the estate planning industry?” Estate…