Tag Archives: Estate Planning

Proactive steps can be taken now to drastically reduce the chances of your clients’ wishes being challenged. Some of the topics we will cover include:

Reducing the chances a disgruntled beneficiary will attack your client’s estate plan
Increasing the chances that the estate plan will be successfully defended using discretionary trusts, no-contest clauses, and conditional distributions
Common litigation scenarios and how to avoid them
Anticipating challenges based on dementia, lack of mental capacity, and undue influence
Dealing with beneficiaries’ spouses and divorces
Protecting against mismanagement by trustees and trust advisors
Using statements of intent and overcoming adverse presumptions

Estate Planning for the Muslim Client

Advantages of a Donor-Advised Fund as the Charitable Component of your Financial Strategy

For those who want to give back, one of the first decisions that must be made is to determine what philanthropic tools are best suited for one’s individual charitable goals and financial circumstances. One philanthropic vehicle that has skyrocketed in popularity over the past decade, is the donor-advised fund, or DAF. For nearly a century, DAFs have been offered by local community foundations. More recently, DAFs have become available through the charitable extension of wealth management organizations such as Peak Trust Company’s Donor-Advised Fund (PTDAF).

Catholic Estate Planning

Kaestner Case and State Income Taxation of Trusts

On June 21st, the Supreme Court of the United States entered its opinion in North Carolina v. Kaestner, 588 US (2019). The Kaestner case represents an extremely important decision for all estate planners, trust officers, trustees, and advisers. Although the holding is a narrow one, it is vitally important. The Supreme Court held that a state may not impose income tax on undistributed income of a trust where the trust’s only contact with the state is a beneficiary living in the state, who might have received (but did not actually receive) distributions from the trust.

The entire decision needs to be considered in planning and in trust administration. For example, the court hints that perhaps even holding meetings in a state might provide a sufficient connection to allow the state to impose state income tax on a trust. Three leading experts, Jonathan Blattmachr, Mitchell Gans, and Martin Shenkman will discuss the Kaestner opinion and provide explicit recommendations on structuring and administering trusts to avoid state tax on trust income. Mitchell and Jonathan were two of the authors of the ACTEC amicus brief submitted to the Supreme Court on which the court seems to have relied in forming its opinion.

Christian Estate and Financial Planning

Charitable Deductions for Estates and Trusts

In this video, we will cover:

Basics of Income Taxation of Estates and Non-Grantor Trusts
Differences in the Income Tax Charitable Deduction for Individuals, of the One Site, and Estates and Trusts on the Other
How the Income Tax Deduction for Estates and Trusts Works
When it will be more efficient to Garner the Deduction from an Estate or Trust Rather than from an Individual
The Dangers of seeking a Deduction for a Charitable Contribution by an Estate or Trust which has Imputed income from a pass Thru Investment
Why you will want to Authorize Charitable Contribution in almost every trust you draft