In the past year or so, the pendulum seems to be swinging away from ESG investing, but questions remain with regard to a trustee’s fiduciary duties, especially when the trustee is pressed by trust beneficiaries to pursue an ESG investment strategy.

A widow, or widower, who receives an inheritance from a deceased spouse, even if covered by the unlimited marital deduction, could find themselves paying federal estate taxes, in their capacity as a transferee of the decedent’s estate.

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.

The terms of an irrevocable Trust can be modified by a probate court to reflect the settlor’s probable intent regarding tax objectives. However, there is also the limitation of the need for the state’s highest court to rule on that modification.

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

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?

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.

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.

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