Business Trusts 101: What Entrepreneurs Should Know about Using a Business Trust
Trusts are usually associated with estate planning, but trusts can also apply to business operations. As a small business owner, you can hold the business in a trust instead of using a business entity such as a limited liability company (LLC) or corporation. Business...The Basis Optimized Trust (BOT)
The Basis Optimized Trust (BOT) is an advanced option for planning that may yield better results than the more common types of irrevocable trusts, such as credit shelter (bypass) trusts, or qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) trusts, which have been the...Prodigal Son Breaks News To Dad That He Spent His Entire Inheritance On Gender Studies Degree
I stole the title of this post from a great Babylon Bee article that just came out. For those who don’t know, Babylon Bee is satire. Strangely, their satirical articles often do come true. And this particular title hews closely enough to family settings often...Member-Managed vs. Manager-Managed LLCs: What Is the Difference?
When setting up your business, one of the most significant decisions you will make is which type of entity to form. If you have settled on forming a limited liability company (LLC), you must also choose the type of management structure it will have. LLCs can be...The BDOT Option for Trusted Beneficiaries
The Beneficiary Deemed Owner Trust (BDOT) is one of several options to consider for “trusted beneficiaries” (pun intended) to whom you are open to giving some access to trust income and/or principal. (Another option might be the Beneficiary Controlled...SECURE Act: How It Will Affect You and the Beneficiaries of Your Retirement Accounts
Dear Clients and Students, On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act). The SECURE Act, which is effective January 1, 2020. The Act is the most impactful legislation affecting...The Beneficiary Controlled Trust
Outright distributions, even if staged at various ages, signify outdated planning. The Beneficiary Controlled Trust, pioneered by my friend Steve Oshins and his father, fills the gap between outright distribution and extreme asset protection — very...Should An Aging Parent Transfer the House to Her Kids?
This Virginia attorney writes a very good article summarizing some of the problems of transferring real estate to a child as an alternative to actual estate planning. Capital gains tax due to loss of basis step-up, medicaid lookback (California’s medi-cal...California’s new Uniform Trust Decanting Act brings Opportunity, Risk
California recently (9/14/18) joined a few other states that have enacted the Uniform Trust Decanting Act. A lot of states have decanting statutes, several dozen in fact, but they vary greatly and this uniform act is more restrictive than those in some of the more...FPC 20180130: Asset Protection
You’ve heard a lot about asset protection in recent years — why so much talk about asset protection? We’ll focus on this topic at our Family Protection Clinic (aka estate planning seminar) lunch meeting on Tuesday, January 30, 2018. (Our weekly seminar...FPC 20180123: Inherited IRA Protection
For many families, a large portion of the estate rests in a retirement plan which, on its own and without further planning, is essentially a separate estate plan with assets left completely unprotected. How do you protect and preserve the inheritance of retirement...Uniform Voidable Transactions Act may DOOM Asset Protection as we know it
UVTA is an attempt by trial lawyers and pointy-headed liberal law professors to resolve conflict of laws in favor of the state from which transfers are made, effectively ending asset protection as we know it. This is obviously not supported by our legal...Rumors of Trust Demise Greatly Exaggerated
Some of the reasons listed here: Despite the proposed high estate, GST and gift tax exemptions and whether there’s repeal, trusts will remain extremely popular for many non-tax reasons, including: family governance/succession/education; ability to override the...Asset Protection: Greenbacks Flee California to Sanctuary States
A huge sea change in California asset protection law is sending assets to sanctuary states, like Nevada, more willing to protect those assets than creditor-friendly California. That other states better protect funds in self-settled trusts is old news. Many states,...Carmack v. Reynolds: California Supreme Court Rules on Asset Protection Trusts
SCOCA has ruled that a creditor/predator can reach up to the entire amount of trust sums due and payable to a beneficiary, plus up to 25% of specified future payments, underscoring the crucial value of having trustees with full discretion over distributions....How Nevada Became America’s Safest State for Wealth Protection
He concluded, “The court did the right thing. They said, listen, our legislature determined what the public policy was in our state and they specifically included it. It’s a clear statute.” That’s settled in Nevada now, providing protection to Nevada...One in three Americans who get an inheritance blow it – MarketWatch
“Great wealth transfer” has joined “silver tsunami” in the lexicon of aging America. It refers to the wave of wealth, estimated to be in the trillions, which will flow from the oldest generation in the coming decades. Yet evidence suggests that many Americans...5 Ways Trusteed IRAs Can Keep A Good Thing Going
Just so we’re clear — I don’t sell IRA’s, I draft trusts, including the type that will make your IRA’s actually work as intended. Read the article, but keep in mind that although “trusteed IRAs” are an improvement over the...Introducing the IT-LIT: Irrevocable Terror Life Insurance Trust
Are 72 virgins really enough? What if they turn out to be 72 Virginians? If you are bound and determined to blow yourself into smithereens or commit some other irrevocable act of terror, at least buy some life insurance so your (surviving) descendants can live like...Protect multiple generations with a dynasty trust
Regardless of the tax implications, there are several nontax reasons to set up a dynasty trust. First, you can designate the beneficiaries of the trust assets spanning multiple generations. Typically, you might provide for the assets to follow a line of...Australia Has The World’s Worst Money-Laundering Property Market | Zero Hedge
Trustophobic claptrap: In Australia, Canada and the US, the current anti-money laundering framework shows a tendency to rely on financial institutions to conduct the necessary background checks on real estate transactions… there are no checks on cash...Should You Create Trusts for Your Kids?
Even if you expect your children to be over age eighteen by the time you and your spouse die, you may want to consider keeping assets in a trust for your children to “protect them from themselves” until they reach a certain age when you think they will be...3 Personal Asset Protection Tools for Physicians | MD Magazine
In self-defense, if you train to draw your gun with an explosive Count 1, you will have more time and more options during counts 2 through 5. It’s the same with asset protection. Take the initial steps now so you have more options later. And there are...Security Risks For Wealthy Families Are On The Rise
Credit card fraud appears to be most prevalent. 51 percent of respondents said that at least one of their clients was a victim of credit card fraud in the past year. Tax returns getting hijacked is another recent yet unsuspecting trend. In addition to credit...Demi Moore Pool Death Puts Asset Protection To The Test
Article’s tone is rosy, but there are a lot of concerns here. In addition to the seasoning requirement in the asset protection trust statute of the trust situs, there is a ten year seasoning under US bankruptcy law, plus this is CA realty owned by a CA...Tailoring the Trust Protector’s Role
The Bespoke Trust Protector – Tailoring the Protector's Role from Matthew McClintock WealthCounsel VP Matt McClintock has been at the forefront in this cutting edge planning area — adapting the age-old concept of trust protector, commonly used in...OJ Simpson may be released soon to enjoy successful #AssetProtection planning
That adds up to £240,000 a year and will amount to a £2.16million fortune by the time of his anticipated release.Under America’s Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the pension cannot be touched by creditors, despite Simpson owing almost £27million....Big reason whites are richer than blacks in America? Lack of black estate planning.
I don’t agree with everything in this article, but it does make a good point about the lack of estate planning. It is surprisingly tough sometimes to get families to consider holding funds in trust to prevent kids from blowing their inheritance, and I can...Utah Jazz Owners Demonstrate Power of Dynasty Trusts
Utah Jazz Owner, Gail Miller, recently made basketball news by announcing that she and her family had transferred the NBA team and the Vivint Smart Home Arena into a dynasty trust. Gail Miller and her late husband, Larry Miller, bought the franchise in 1985 for...Help Your Clients Manage Political Risk
But, what about political risk? Given today’s volatile political environment, it seems especially prudent to raise this topic. A quick glance at the headlines is all one needs to appreciate that these are treacherous times that require organizations to take...Divorcing Spouse Busts through Delaware Dynasty Trust to take $30 Million Mansion (Kloiber Case)
Kloiber case recap: Does a Delaware Dynasty Trust still work? Yes, but only if it’s a fully discretionary trust. Do not ever draft a Delaware trust with health, education, maintenance and support distribution language since that is susceptible to the Garretson v....Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds Dynastic Deaths Give Offspring Legacies and Millions to Inherit Overnight
Luck all around, despite the bad planning. Carrie had formal next of kin, daughter Billie Lourd, who inherits the house, the money and presumably the French bulldog even if the outspoken and occasionally erratic actress forgot to leave a valid will behind....Lessons Learned From U.S. Tax Fraud Case
The court also found that Dee Wyly, the widow of Charles Wyly (who was Samuel Wyly’s brother and business partner), hadn’t committed tax fraud, even though she was a joint signer on Charles’ returns. However, she must pay taxes, penalties and interest for a...Five Strategies to Chasing UHNW Unicorns
There are many types of advisors, but only lawyers are subject to state bar ethics rules and able to provide attorney-client privilege for confidentiality. Most importantly, planning is not all about money, and we know that. Go to http://Protect.LIFE and let an...Six Things Family-Owned Firms Should Know About Succession Planning
Among the chief goals of succession planning is providing continuity of management and minimizing the tax costs of transferring property interests to new generations.Source: Six Things Family-Owned Firms Should Know About Succession PlanningProtect Your Family From Identity Fraud
Personally, I think this is the best of the several solutions discussed: Another way for clients to avoid new account fraud is to put a freeze on their credit report with all three bureaus, which prevents anyone else from opening accounts in their name. There is...Special Needs Trust Fairness Act Becomes Law
On Dec. 13, 2016, President Obama signed the 21st Century Cures Act (H.R.34 — 114th Congress (2015-2016)). Section 5007 of the Act, titled “Fairness in Medicaid Supplemental Needs Trusts” incorporates language from the Special Needs Trust Fairness Act of 2015...Twelve “Star Wars” Lessons For Becoming A Financial Planning Jedi
A truly nerdy advisor with too much time on his hands put this together. Why nothing on Star Trek TOS? In preparation for “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” here are 15 lessons from the film series to help you be a financial planning Jedi. Source:...World’s oldest man Mbah Goto celebrates what he claims to be his 146th birthday
He has outlived all 10 of his siblings as well as his four wives, the last of whom died in 1988. All of his children have also died, and now he is survived by his grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren. Source: World’s oldest...#AssetProtection: Six Tips For Depression Era Trusts’ Judgment Day
During the 1930s, there was a spike in the number of trusts created as wealthy families responded to steep increases in federal gift and estate tax rates. These trusts are now approaching mandatory termination dates and advisors must consider how best to help...#AssetProtection: IRS Issues New Rev Proc 2016-49 Supporting Use of Clayton Election
Good news! The IRS just issued, moments ago, a new Revenue Procedure 2016-49, modifying Rev Proc 2001-48, removing a possible grey area in the use of the so-called Clayton election for flexible and comprehensive post-mortem (i.e., portability and reverse QTIP) tax...#AssetProtection: ‘Bahamas Papers’ Are Latest Chink in Offshore Armor
This round of leaks is somewhat less thrilling than those from Mossack Fonseca’s operations in Panama (although their name does come up) because the data uncovered is largely corporate registries, which contain only the basic components of offshore companies—name,...#AssetProtection: Learning Estate Planning’s Alphabet Soup
This is authored by Matt McClintock, VP of Education for WealthCounsel: I initially created this article as a resource for members of WealthCounsel, but we share it with the entire industry. To that end, I’m sharing this resource here and encourage attorneys and...#AssetProtection: SMALL BUSINESS TAX PLANNING 401K PLAN
If attacked, do you want to be Victor or Victim? At SacredHonor.US, we hate it when people die embarrassed. And at Protect.FM, we believe good estate plans protect families. We make it easy for your family to attain the comfort of skill at arms. David R. Duringer, JD,...#AssetProtection: Gift Splitting and Gifts to a Spouse Via an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust
Conclusion In order to split gifts to a trust when Mom is a beneficiary of the trust, the gifts to children must be ascertainable and severable from gifts to Mom. Unfortunately, there is ambiguity in interpreting this phrase, but the Service seems to permit gift...#AssetProtection: Seven Psychological Issues for Clients Making Bequests
Some great info and advice here. Also some worthless psychobabble. In crafting an estate plan, many clients struggle with sleepless nights caused by wrenching emotional issues pertaining to their relationships with their children, their value systems, their...#AssetProtection: Five Tips for Talking About Money With Adult Children
As parents, our clients want the best for their children, perhaps especially when those children become adults. Learning good financial habits can be central to a successful and independent adulthood. Yet, most young adults feel they’re thrown into the world without...IRS Clarifies That Indirect Owners Of Disregarded Entities Are Liable For Self-Employment Tax
The IRS recently released temporary regulations clarifying that an employee of a disregarded entity is liable for self-employment tax if the employee is a partner in the partnership that owns the disregarded entity. See Treasury Decision 9766 (May 4, 2016). Source:...Photo Gallery: Top 10 Beneficiary Designation Mistakes
The beneficiary designations on financial accounts are crucial decisions that will impact the success of a financial or estate plan. Here are 10 common mistakes that advisors should discuss with their clients. Source: Photo Gallery: Top 10 Beneficiary Designation...
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