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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QCD-to-CGA

The SECURE Act 2.0 expanded the use of a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) to include a transfer to a split-interest charitable entity.

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Quick-Take: Annual Exclusion Gifts

Expect the federal gift tax annual exclusion amount to increase to $18,000 per donee starting in 2024.

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Corporate Transparency Act Update

One of the filing deadlines for the Corporate Transparency Act just got extended.

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Spousal Gift-Splitting – the Basics

Gift-splitting by spouses is an effective way to use both spouses’ applicable exemption amounts when only one spouse owns the asset to be gifted. The challenge is to comply with the technical rules to timely make the election to ‘split-gifts.’

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Beneficiary’s Interest in Irrevocable Trust Included in Marital Estate

A divorce court’s equitable powers in some cases can circumvent the clear terms of the Michigan Trust Code that a beneficial interest in a purely discretionary trust is not a property interest that is subject to division in the divorce.

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Getting Ready for the Corporate Transparency Act

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA)and it’s reporting requirements is only four months away. Now is the time to become familiar with the CTA’s reporting requirements.

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SLAT Risks

While a spousal lifetime access trust may make sense for many wealthy married couples, they do present some risks in how they are administered, how they are drafted, and the ever-present danger of a future divorce.

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2024 Retirement Account Changes

Many new IRA contribution and distribution rules will come into effect starting in January, 2024. Some are straightforward, while one in particular needs more guidance from the IRS to be fully understood.

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