Take-Away: Under Michigan’s Trust Code, the presence of a spendthrift provision in the trust instrument is generally considered to be a material purpose of the trust, thus controlling to some extent any efforts to subsequently modify the trust. Modifications, or terminations, of a trust must be consistent with the trust’s material purposes. What the trust’s […]

Take-Away: There is a Bill languishing somewhere in the House of Representatives that would amend the Tax Code to increase the age when required minimum distributions (RMDs) begin from age 72 to age 75. The Bill would also relieve an IRA owner from having to take an RMD if the aggregate balance of all defined […]

Take-Away: In something of a surprise, an agent who acts under a durable power of attorney is not treated as a fiduciary under the Michigan Estates and Protected Individual’s Code (EPIC). As the state’s Legislature actively looks at numerous proposed Bills to prevent financial elder abuse, it might consider amending  EPIC to designate an agent […]

Take-Away: With the attention given to the 2016 Chan Zuckerberg LLC initiative a few years ago through which Mark Zuckerberg carries out his charitable giving, charitable limited liability companies (LLCs) have been gaining in popularity in recent years as an alternative to the use of a private foundation. Background: The perceived benefit of using a […]

Take-Away: The switch to the new RMD Tables beginning in 2022 will be simple for some individuals and a bit more challenging for others. Background: The new required minimum distribution (RMD) tables become effective on January 1, 2022. Those tables provide a larger divisor (reflective of longer life expectancies) which in turn produce a smaller […]

Take-Away: The ability of spouses to split their gifts is a great opportunity to avoid paying gift taxes. However, there are several ‘traps’ to avoid when spouses split gifts. Perhaps the biggest ‘trap’ is ignoring the scheduled decrease in the spouses’ applicable exemption amount in 2026. Background: The donor’s spouse, for gift tax purposes, may […]

Take-Away: Michigan enjoys very favorable laws with regard to the protection of assets held in a trust. While settlors may take some comfort in that knowledge, less clear is how other states will treat a ‘Michigan’ asset protection trust if the beneficiary moves to a state where its laws or its public policy are not […]

Take-Away: The division of and IRA and a 401(k) account are different in a divorce property settlement, as can be the income tax consequences that result from that division. Differentiating an IRA from a 401(k) account is important to avoid accelerating the income tax liability associated with those retirement accounts. Key to this differentiation is […]

Take-Away: The Tax Court finally allowed a charitable façade easement for historic structures as a charitable income tax deduction. The significance of that decision is that for several years now, donors of charitable easements, including façade easements, have not fared well at all in the Tax Court trying to sustain their income tax charitable deductions. […]

Take-Away: The potential exists for new rules that will apply to the historically high federal gift and estate tax rules. While the IRS has settled concerns about the possible clawback into a donor’s taxable estate with regard to the donor’s lifetime gifts using the temporarily large federal gift tax exemption, the IRS also promised to […]