By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) Prior to the Trump Tax Act, state income taxes paid were deductible against federal income tax. However, the Trump Tax Act limits the amount of the federal income tax deduction for state income taxes paid, real property taxes paid and sales taxes paid to a cumulative (yes, cumulative!) total of $10,000 per year. The $10,000 is used up for property taxes only for many of our clients. Therefore, state income taxes paid are essentially no longer deductible! This is why state income tax avoidance planning has arguably become the hottest area of estate…
The 2022 Biden Estate Tax Cliff: Preparing After the 1/1/2013 and 1/1/2021 Cliffs
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) If you are an estate planner, you likely had your best revenue ever in 2012. Then you likely annihilated your previous revenue record in 2020. This happened because of the so-called “fear of missing out” with different tax “cliffs” expected to occur at the end of those two years, thereby causing a commotion among the wealthy. JANUARY 1, 2013 FISCAL CLIFF Rewind back to the year 2012. President Obama was in office and the $5 million estate and gift tax exemption was scheduled to expire and roll back to only $1 million at…
Protect Against Potential Retroactive Estate Tax Changes
By Martin M. Shenkman, CPA, MBA, PFS, AEP (Distinguished), J.D. The Biden Administration may reduce the exemption retroactively, perhaps even to January 1, 2021! It’s best to protect against a retroactive tax change. Retroactive tax changes sound unfair! Even Taylor Swift said: “It’s hard to fight when the fight ain’t fair.” But we’ll tell you how to fight that unfair tax fight! The law permits a retroactive tax change. See: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation v. R. A. Gray & Co., 467 U. S. 717 (1984); United States v. Carlton, 512 U.S. 26 (1994). The need for revenue, or the desire…
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Oshins: Staggered Distribution Trust versus Dynasty Trust
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) Testing his theory that in every man dwells a good and an evil force, the reserved Dr. Jekyll develops a formula that separates the two, turning him into an argumentative estate planning attorney named Mr. Oshins who tells it like it is. Dr. Jekyll soon realizes he is becoming addicted to his darker self as he unleashes his opinions on the estate planning industry. In this article, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Oshins tackle the differences between a Staggered Distribution Trust and a Dynasty Trust. As expected, Mr. Oshins will provide a different view…
The Beneficiary Controlled Trust as the Centerpiece of the Estate Plan
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) INTRODUCTION Most estate planning attorneys draft trusts that make mandatory distributions to the beneficiaries upon reaching certain ages. For example, many trusts pay out one-third upon the beneficiary reaching age 25, one-half of the balance upon the beneficiary reaching age 30 and the balance upon the beneficiary reaching age 35. This is commonly known as a Staggered Distribution Trust since the distributions are staggered over different time periods. The philosophy used in this type of trust design is that the beneficiaries have multiple opportunities to learn from their mistakes. However, Staggered Distribution Trusts…
Which Type of Trust is Most Important for Top 1% Financial Advisors to Know About?
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) Are you a financial advisor? If so, you’re likely compensated in large part based on assets under management. Therefore, your interests are aligned with those of our clients. The better you do for them, the better you do for yourself. THE STATE INCOME TAX DRAG Just as it is frustrating for our clients in states with a state income tax to pay that tax on taxable dividends and capital gains, it must be nearly as frustrating for the financial advisor whose income is also adversely affected by this state income tax drag. What if…
Situs Your Trust in a First-Tier Trust Jurisdiction
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) and Mark Dreschler Not all jurisdictions have favorable trust laws. In fact, most jurisdictions’ trust laws are inferior in comparison to those of the first-tier trust jurisdictions. Despite the limitations found in most trust jurisdictions laws, estate planners generally limit their planning to the client’s home jurisdiction. This article will provide multiple reasons not to do so and will explain some of the opportunities that are lost by failing to consider a top trust jurisdiction. COMMON REASONS TO SITUS A TRUST IN A TOP-TIER TRUST JURISDICTION Following are some of the common reasons…
9th Annual Dynasty Trust State Rankings Chart Released
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) The 9th Annual Dynasty Trust State Rankings Chart has been released! This year’s Chart factors in the new era of Dynasty Trusts. The Chart is an easy-to-use summary of leading Dynasty Trust states that shows the material differences among the states and ranks them according to usability and flexibility. Planners often focus on the multi-generational estate tax benefits of a Dynasty Trust. However, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 essentially doubled the federal estate and gift tax exemption which, after inflationary increases, is now $11.58 million per person, or $23.16 million…
Trustasaurus: The Gradual Extinction of the Age 25, 30 and 35 Trust
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…
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…