Take-Away: As we counsel clients with how to maintain their sanity during the COVID-19 ‘lock-down’ and their sudden loss of 25% of their wealth, knowing that they are overwhelmed by anxiety and tend to compartmentalization of their problems they may act out of impulse. That is where we come in to control those impulses. We […]

Take-Away: In a period of large federal gift tax exemptions, it should not come as a surprise that many individuals are encouraged to take advantage of those large transfer tax exemptions by making substantial lifetime gifts. That said, behind those lifetime gifts is the need to have a working understanding of Michigan’s Voidable Transactions Act […]

Take-Away: There are several tax traps when S corporate stock is the subject of a gift to charity, particularly if the S stock is used to fund a charitable remainder trust (CRT.) It may be better for the S corporation to use one of its assets as the subject of a gift to charity, as opposed […]

Take-Away: In the past we have reviewed the importance of identifying the settlor’s intent behind the creation of a trust. This focus is manifested in the Michigan Trust Code’s periodic reference to preserving a trust’s material purposes in trust modification or termination proceedings. However, the Michigan Trust Code and the Uniform Trust Code also have […]

Take-Away: In 2018 Michigan adopted a statute that authorizes electronic and remote notarizations of legal documents. However, not all states have such statutes. In light of the multiple nationwide ‘stay at home’ orders, there is now a Bill pending in the U.S. Senate that would authorize electronic and remote notarizations throughout the country in order […]

Take-Away: More guidance was published by the federal government on April 8 in the form of additional questions and answers with regard to the Payroll Protection Program (PPP.)A few of the 20 proposed answers to questions tend to help clarify some earlier confusion in the implementation of the PPP. Source: https://tinyurl.com/yxxn5g6b Background: Under the PPP excluded […]

Take-Away: Many existing IRA beneficiary designation forms and see-through trusts will have to be revised in light of the SECURE Act’s 10-year distribution rule, and the special category that it creates for eligible designated beneficiaries who may continue to take stretch distributions from inherited IRAs and qualified plan accounts using their life expectancy. Example: I fielded […]

This is Part II of the promised summary with regard to when to name a Trust as the beneficiary of retirement plan accounts and IRAs. Earlier I provided a summary of a conduit trust. This is a summary of the see-through trust known as an accumulation trust. I will not repeat the earlier summary of […]

Several weeks ago a couple of individuals indicated  that they wanted to know more about distributions from retirement plans and IRAs to Trusts. Perhaps because it is that time of the year when many of our thoughts turn to taking required minimum distributions before the end of the calendar year or  because Congress is now […]

The Legislative Development and Drafting Committee of the Michigan Probate and Estate Planning Council is currently looking at a possible amendment to the Michigan Trust Code to permit ‘silent trusts’ or what I call a ‘hush trust.’ Many clients would prefer to not have the beneficiaries of Trusts that they create know about the Trust […]