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SECURE 2.0 Act, You, and Your IRA Beneficiaries

On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement 2.0 Act (SECURE 2.0 Act). The previous SECURE Act in 2020 made several changes to retirement planning: It increased the required beginning date (RBD) for required...

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...

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...

The flexibility of stretch IRAs: Learn how your IRA can benefit your spouse and other beneficiaries

  IRA stretch is great in theory, but your beneficiary can withdraw the principal at any time and there is no asset protection. As an estate planning attorney, I can make the stretch real by using an asset-protected standalone IRA Beneficiary Trust, separate from...

Basis Consistency and Reporting for Property Acquired from a Decedent

  Significant coverage was devoted at the recently concluded 51st Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning in Orlando, Fla. to the Internal Revenue Service’s proposed regulations (proposed regs) concerning basis consistency and reporting for property...

Life Insurance: It Was Never Just About Taxes

  This article raises important points — plan for the long-term and don’t let taxes direct the planning over more important goals — plus it’s a good review of the many benefits of life insurance. But as I’ve previously noted, the...

Taxation of Aliens Trying to Leave America – Don’t Go Home without your IRS Sailing Permit or You Aren’t Coming Back

  Article authored by my friend Brian Dooley, a top international tax expert: Before leaving the United States or any of its possessions permanently or for an extended amount of time, all U.S. resident aliens and nonresident aliens (with certain exceptions) must...

Repeal and Uncertainty Impacts Estate Administration

  Good advice in this article, but much of the uncertainty can be removed with thorough, comprehensive planning with an eye toward flexibility. For example, in our planning (http://Protect.LIFE), we offer not only the current flexibility of the Clayton election,...

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 Planning

International Investors and California: Roundtripping | California CEO Magazine

  For international investors who want to thrive in the California lifestyle, they face three different issues: immigration status, business investment and tax planning. For these clients, I recommend they consider “Roundtripping”, (i.e., they invest in a CA...

#AssetProtection: Risks and Opportunities for Your Clients Under President-Elect Trump

As always, flexibility is key: Recommend cautious optimism. The elimination of the estate tax in particular is likely to be welcome news to your higher net worth clients, but the proposal may be subject to opposition or compromise in Congress. This compromise could...