Trustee’s Duty to Minimize State Income Taxes

A trustee has a duty to change the situs of the Trust it administers to minimize, or completely avoid, the imposition of state income taxes on the Trust’s accumulated income.

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Qualified Small Business Stock – Rollover

The tax benefits from owning qualified small business stock (QSBS) can be enhanced if the sales proceeds are rolled into a new QSBS investment.

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Silent Trusts

Michigan now has a silent trust statute. Is that a good thing?

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Community Property Trusts

Some states now offer the use of a community property trust, even for nonresidents. While the tax savings using a community property trust can be extraordinary, there are still some risks in their use.

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Domestic Asset Protection Trusts – Are they Worth It?

The use of a domestic asset protection trust (DAPT) often attracts a considerable amount of negativity, some finding them to be morally wrong, or per se a fraudulent transfer. Yet the negative connotations associated with a DAPT are often the product of egregious facts that lead a court to place the DAPT’s in jail for flaunting the court’s order.

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Technical Fixes to SECURE ACT 2.0

Some of the provisions of the SECURE Act 2.0 that need fixing may soon take place.

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Awaiting the Wealth Tax

We may soon learn if it is constitutional for Congress to tax unrealized appreciation, aka impose a wealth tax.

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Removing a Trustee Triggers Fiduciary Duties

Sometimes we need to remember that ‘once a fiduciary, always a fiduciary’ when it comes to exercising powers delegated under a Trust instrument which in turn invites a bad faith analysis by the courts.

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Determining a Trust Beneficiary’s Lifestyle

It would be best to identify in a Trust instrument exactly when a trust beneficiary’s lifestyle is to be determined with regard to the direction to a trustee to make discretionary distributions that take into consideration the trust beneficiary’s lifestyle or other financial resources that may be available to the beneficiary.

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Three IRAs – Three Different Payout Rules

Traditional, Roth, and inherited IRAs each have their own set of payout rules. It is best to follow a ‘distribution roadmap’ for each IRA and not make assumptions about which set of payout rules to different IRAs.

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