Monday night I had the opportunity to listen to a speech with regard to  Michigan’s new asset protection trust act [The Qualified Dispositions in Trust Act] by one of its principal draft-persons, Rob Tiplady, an Ann Arbor attorney.  What follows are a summary of my notes taken during Rob’s presentation that described Michigan’s newest trust […]

If you are a parent with minor children, you need to be aware of a subtle change in Michigan’s law that became effective on March 29th  of this year. Many of you know that you can execute a Power of Attorney to delegate parental authority over a minor child. My wife and I used these […]

Warning: What follows is pretty technical. Take-Away: I am the first to admit that no one gets  excited about reading the Uniform Principal and Income Act (UPAIA). However,  the UPAIA’s rules  are critically important to trustees that must impartially administer irrevocable Trusts for present and future beneficiaries in a low investment income environment.  Understanding those […]

No one really seems to know these days what Michigan’s public policy is when it comes to prenuptial agreements or postnuptial agreements for that matter. The Michigan’s Court of Appeals recent Allard decision [Michigan Court of Appeals, #308194. January 31, 2017], tells us that the parties cannot enter into an enforceable prenuptial agreement in which […]

Take-Away:  A decedent’s creditor are treated more favorably than the decedent’s surviving spouse under Michigan’s probate laws. Context: A law that has always puzzled me has been Michigan’s probate Code’s description of a surviving spouse’s elective rights. Michigan took a minority position when it adopted its version of the Uniform Probate Code  with regard to […]

Spousal Support: Formerly called alimony, spousal support is governed by Michigan statute and court rule. As a generalization, spousal support is awarded in the discretion of the trial judge. This decision is premised upon a multi-factor analysis, i.e. a litany of equitable facts, that guide the trial judge and used to justify the amount awarded, […]

This past weekend I had the opportunity to speak with Nancy Welber, a fellow ACTEC member, who is on the ACTEC subcommittee that is in the process of submitting a proposed recommendation to the Senate Finance Committee on stretch IRAs. Nancy gave me an informal update on where things stand with the stretch IRA rules. […]

Take-Away: Merely because the trustee possesses the authority in a trust instrument to change the trust’s situs does not mean that the trustee can also change the trust’s governing law. These concepts are not the same. Context: Much has been written about several states that now regularly compete for trust business. A month does not […]

Take-Away:  When a married couple own a closely held business and they plan to exploit the opportunity to pay federal estate taxes associated with that business in installments over several years, it would be wise for the deceased owner of the business to reconsider the IDGT lifetime sale strategy, and to use a QTIP Trust […]

With all the headline news about the non-repeal of the Affordable Care Act, it is easy to overlook (or ignore) some of the tools that are currently available to help middle and low income individuals pay for their health care like contributions to a health savings account. Take-Away Message: Name a surviving spouse, if possible, […]