S Corporation Trap – The Second Class of Stock

An S election by a corporation can be inadvertently terminated if there is a deemed second class of stock.

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Trustee’s Duty to Delegate

A trustee’s ability to delegate the responsibility for trust investments is authorized under the Uniform Prudent Investor Act exists, but some comment actions taken by the trustee with respect to the trust’s portfolio do not constitute delegation as contemplated by the Act.

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IRAs and Trusts, Donor Advised Funds, and Charitable Remainder Trusts

Giving an IRA to a charity on the IRA owner’s death provides many tax benefits to the owner’s estate. It is also possible to be creative in what kind of trust is named as the IRA’s beneficiary to meet the decedent’s estate planning objectives.

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SECURE Acts – A Couple of Questions and Answers

There are still many common questions about the SECURE Acts’ provisions that create confusion. Fortunately, there are some clear answers to some of those questions. But, then again, there are many questions where we must wait further guidance in the form of proposed Regulations. Some fairly common questions and answers follow.

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Recent IRA Statistics

Recently the Investment Company Institute (ICI), an association that represents mutual fund companies and similar investment companies, conducted a survey of the prevalence of IRAs held in American households.

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Quick Take – SEC Proposed Rule on Predictive Data Analytics

The SEC has proposed a new rule that would substantially curtail the use of AI and predictive data analytics now used to guide investors.

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Quick Take – Charitable Deduction Abuses

The IRS and victimized investors are aggressively pursuing charitable income tax deduction promoters.

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SECURE Act 2.0 – Penalties and the Statute of Limitations

File IRS Form 5329 annually to gain the shortest IRS statute of limitations when it comes to contributions to retirement accounts and taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) from retirement accounts.

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Annual Exclusion Gifts – Don’t Make Any Assumptions

It is important to keep in mind that in order to qualify as an annual exclusion, the gift must be of a present interest and that gifts to grandchildren in trust have additional requirements to be met in order to qualify for the generation skipping transfer tax annual exclusion opportunity.

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Jury Trial in Trust Modification Proceeding?

Can a party request a jury trial in a probate court proceeding to modify the terms of a trust? Probably not, but who really knows?

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