Estate planning means planning ahead. Each individual’s applicable exemption amount that is used to shelter their transfers from the federal gift, estate, and generation skipping tax will increase come 2024.

A trust beneficiary’s power of withdrawal is treated as a general power of appointment for tax purposes.

Currently there is no income tax deduction for theft losses. The inability to deduct a theft loss can cause enormous hardship on the victims of a theft.

For those individuals born in 1951 who thought that they had to take their first required minimum distribution (RMD) starting in 2023, there is some relief, but only if they act by September 30, 2023.

Individuals who inherit IRAs need to promptly name successor beneficiaries to that IRA in order to avoid having their estate deemed the successor beneficiary.

While Michigan respects the creation and enforcement of an oral trust, there must be clear and convincing evidence of the trust’s terms, and other statutes, like the Statute of Frauds, override the oral trust statute.

The use of a corporate, or professional, trustee can go a long way to maneuver the minefield of family tension and dynamics on a family member’s death.

How society looks at undue influence is rapidly changing, perhaps much faster than how the law rigidly looks at undue influence.

It is probably a good time to revisit the qualified charitable distribution rules, now that there is a new ‘option’ to transfer a limited amount via a QCD to either a charitable remainder trust (CRT) or a charitable gift annuity (CGA.)

Distributions from a donor advised fund to a private foundation can change its nature to a public charity, thus circumventing the rigorous restrictions imposed on private foundations.