Take-Away: As a gross generalization, the Michigan Trust Code provides a series of default rules when a trust instrument is silent on a question. Only a handful of Michigan Trust Code provisions prevail over the express terms of the trust. A question addressed in a recent court decision is whether the trust instrument’s express provisions […]

Take-Away: Much has been written about the use of a charitable remainder trust as one way to work-around the SECURE Act’s 10-year mandatory distribution rule for most inherited retirement accounts. Recently innovative, albeit somewhat obtuse, alternatives to the use of a charitable remainder trust have surfaced, that include an IRC 678 beneficiary deemed owner trust […]

Take-Away: Surveys and statistics show that more and more Americans cohabit without marriage. Federal and state law reward couples who marry and protect the rights and interests of those who choose to marry. However, there is no comparable protection to the partner in a committed cohabitation relationship, who may have few remedies once the cohabitation […]

Take-Away: If a trustee exercises a decanting power to transfer assets to a new, or second, trust it is possible that the trustee’s transfer may inadvertently cause a taxable gift. Background: As we have covered in the past, Michigan has two separate decanting statutes. Administrative Changes: One statute, found in the Michigan Trust Code, primarily […]

Take-Away: Today’s trust instruments need to contain greater flexibility and thoughtful definitions to guide a trustee that must deal with the needs and desires of the ‘modern family.’   Overview: The long-running  comedy TV show ‘Modern Family’ showed to us just how different contemporary families appear and act when compared to what we normally assume […]

Take-Away: 2019 did not produce many decisions from Michigan appellate courts with regard to trusts and their administration. However, a handful of cases from around the country, in particular Massachusetts, and surprisingly Nebraska, provide some interesting commentary with regard to Wills, Trusts, their interpretation or construction, and their administration. ‘My Issue by Representation’: The Will’s […]

Take-Away: Children who are adopted are treated under the Michigan Estates and Individual’s Code [EPIC] as natural born children of their adoptive parent. At common law that was not the case when it came to third-party dispositions, which treated adopted children as strangers to the marriage. Common Law: About 150 years ago, while adding children […]

Take-Away: Now may be the perfect time for an individual to make a gift of a remainder interest in a home, cottage, or farm to a charity. Such a gift creates a charitable income tax deduction. Background: An individual is entitled to claim an immediate income tax charitable deduction if a remainder interest in their […]

Take-Away: The SECURE Act imposed a 10-year distribution rule on most inherited IRAs (traditional and Roth.) However, the Act changed the required minimum distribution rules to eliminate annual required minimum distributions from an inherited IRA, only requiring that the inherited IRA be completely emptied by December 31 of the 10th year following the IRA owner’s […]

Take-Away:  A recent Michigan Court of Appeals panel declined to terminate an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) notwithstanding arguments that the trust was invalid because the trustee did not comply with crummey withdrawal notices that were supposed to be given to the trust’s beneficiaries. The Court found that despite the risks of the death benefits […]