“Sham” Trusts

While it is easy to create a Trust that complies with the Michigan Trust Code, there is no assurance that the Trust will be respected for federal tax purposes.

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Modifying Trusts to Achieve Tax Objectives

The terms of an irrevocable Trust can be modified by a probate court to reflect the settlor’s probable intent regarding tax objectives.

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A Big RMD Mistake

IRA custodian need to be attentive and knowledgeable when helping to open IRA accounts and when determining when required minimum distributions are mandated.

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Reforming a Trust – 25 years Later!

Could it be that settlors are better off not proofreading their Trust instruments before they are signed, if they later want to change their mind?

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Spendthrift Clauses

A spendthrift clause protects a beneficiary’s interest in a trust. Such a clause can also frustrate future efforts to modify the trust’s terms or the trust beneficiary’s effort to plan their own estate.

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2025 Budget Proposals

President Biden’s 2025 Budget Proposal (the Greenbook) looks pretty much like his 2024 Budget Proposal as a source of new revenues. Many of its proposals will sound familiar.

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Retirement Distributions to the Terminally Ill

The SECURE Act 2.0 provides yet another exception to the early distribution excise tax, the Terminally Ill Distribution.

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GST “Fixes”

It may be possible to fix some ‘mistakes’ when a trust is subject to the generation skipping transfer tax.

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Tax Basis – Avoiding the Zero Basis Trap

While we regularly talk about the ‘right’ to obtain an income tax basis step-up on the death of the asset’s owner, it is important to remember that omitted assets, or assets that would have caused a federal estate tax liability but which were not timely reported on a federal estate tax return, may nonetheless carry an income tax basis of $0.00 due to the IRS’s basis consistency rules.

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Guidance on Pension ‘Linked’ Emergency Savings Accounts

Starting this year a qualified elective deferral retirement plan may have ‘linked’ to it an emergency savings account that has a balance up to $2,500. Employer matching contributions can also be made to this savings account, but the IRS is concerned about employee-participants manipulating the savings account opportunity solely to obtain an employer’s matching contribution.

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