March 13, 2019
March 12, 2019
2018 Annual Report
March 1, 2019
Disclaiming to Reach a Higher Basis
Disclaiming an interest in property has always been a way to add flexibility to an estate plan. By exercising of a timely qualified disclaimer, the disclaimant effectively moves assets to another individual, or to a trust, without incurring any gift tax. Consequently, disclaimer planning takes center-stage in many estate plans these days by spouses to […]
Read MoreFebruary 8, 2019
February 2019 Perspectives
February 8, 2019
Brexit: Where Are We Now?
February 8, 2019
Is Your Durable Power of Attorney Aging with You?
February 8, 2019
Digital Assets – Are You Planning for Them?
February 8, 2019
Millennials: Building Their Legacy
February 8, 2019
Hardship Distributions Made Easier in 2019
January 15, 2019
January 2019 Perspectives
January 15, 2019
2019 Strategic Initiatives
January 15, 2019
2018 Review and Outlook
January 15, 2019
Reflect, Resolve, Relax
January 15, 2019
Your Children and Their Financial Inheritance
January 15, 2019
Happily Ever Asher
January 11, 2019
Greenleaf Trust named national winner of Best and Brightest Companies to Work For
January 10, 2019, Kalamazoo, MI – The National Association for Business Resources has named Greenleaf Trust one of the nation’s Best and Brightest Companies to Work For. Greenleaf Trust is one of only 512 winning companies out of 2,400 contenders. Other national winners include Sony, Panasonic, Prudential, Ace Hardware, and SpartanNash. This is the eight […]
Read MoreJanuary 9, 2019
Greenleaf Trust’s Year In Review: A Seminar on Financial Markets and Our Outlook for 2019
December 19, 2018
December 2018 Perspectives Newsletter
November 14, 2018
November 2018 Perspectives Newsletter
November 7, 2018
Greenleaf Trust Research: Dems take the House, GOP holds the Senate
In last month’s Perspectives newsletter, we detailed expectations, as well as probable and possible outcomes heading into midterm elections. The article: “Democrats or Republicans…Who Will Ace the Midterms” is available here for your reference. Midterm Outcomes Aligned with Expectations Yesterday, Americans cast ballots to elect members for all 435 seats in the House of Representatives […]
Read MoreOctober 15, 2018
October 2018 Perspectives Newsletter
September 25, 2018
Remainder Purchase Marital Trust Strategy
A couple of months ago I wrote about the possible use of spousal lifetime access trusts (SLATs) as a way for a married couple to exploit the recent $5 million increase in their respective federal gift tax exemption amount, while still retaining access to the cash flow generated by those transferred assets. Yet another technique […]
Read MoreSeptember 12, 2018
September 2018 Perspectives Newsletter
August 15, 2018
August 2018 Perspectives Newsletter
August 2, 2018
For eighth year in a row, Greenleaf Trust named one of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in Metro Detroit
July 30, 2018, Warren, Michigan – Companies of every size and purpose across Detroit compete annually to be named one of Metro Detroit’s Best and Brightest Companies to Work For®. Only those that distinguish themselves as having the most innovative and thoughtful human resources approaches receive the honor. Greenleaf Trust once again is, for the […]
Read MoreJuly 23, 2018
‘Enhanced’ Defined Dollar Value Formula Transfers
The 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act provides more incentives for individuals to gift assets either to their family members or to dynasty-type irrevocable trusts. The temporary increase in the applicable transfer tax exemption amount by $5.6 million per individual encourages the wealthy to consider making large gifts when no federal gift tax will be […]
Read MoreJuly 9, 2018
July 2018 Perspectives Newsletter
June 13, 2018
June 2018 Perspectives Newsletter
May 16, 2018
May 2018 Perspectives Newsletter
April 18, 2018
April 2018 Perspectives Newsletter
April 6, 2018
Greenleaf Trust Announces New Hires and Promotions
August 2016, Kalamazoo, MI Hanna Channell joins Greenleaf Trust as a wealth management assistant. She is responsible for the development of comprehensive wealth management plans, the execution of goal-based planning strategies, and the management of investment portfolios. With her bachelor’s degree in math education and master’s degree from Western Michigan University, Hanna has over seven […]
Read MoreApril 4, 2018
On Tariffs and Trade Policies
The first quarter of 2018 was exciting if nothing else. Stock market strength in January was followed by a correction in February sparked by inflation concerns and monetary policy uncertainties. Stocks rebounded into March until tariff announcements from the White House and speculation over a possible trade war pushed markets lower again. Evolving U.S. trade policy begets uncertainty […]
Read MoreMarch 13, 2018
March 2018 Perspectives Newsletter
March 13, 2018
2017 Annual Report
February 17, 2018
February 2018 Perspectives Newsletter
February 13, 2018
Charitable Remainder Trusts: An Old Tool to Fix A New Problem
The Tax Cut and Jobs Act (the 2017 Tax Act) provided several surprises, although I am not sure that it actually delivered that much simplification to a complex tax code as was promised. One big surprise was to make alimony or spousal support no longer tax deductible by the payer or taxable to the recipient. […]
Read MoreFebruary 12, 2018
Community Property Agreements and Trusts: Old and New Planning Tools
Structuring an estate to obtain an income tax basis ‘step-up’ upon the death of a client continues to be a significant goal of many estate plans. New planning strategies try to exploit old estate tax rules to intentionally cause an asset to be included in a decedent’s taxable estate. This approach attempts to create rights […]
Read MoreJanuary 23, 2018
2017 Year End Seminar
It was a pleasure to be with so many clients at our 2017 Year End Seminar. For those of you who were unable to attend, we hope this recording of the event will be of interest. Thank you again for giving us the privilege of serving you. [sc_embed_player_template1 fileurl=”/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/glt-year-in-review-2017.mp3″]
Read MoreJanuary 17, 2018
January 2018 Perspectives Newsletter
December 19, 2017
December 2017 Perspectives Newsletter
November 23, 2017
October 2017 Seminar
In partnership with Mercantile Bank of Michigan, Greenleaf Trust invited guests to a timely discussion on economic and financial markets developments. [sc_embed_player_template1 fileurl=”/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/glt-year-end-2017end_01.mp3″]
Read MoreNovember 14, 2017
November 2017 Perspectives Newsletter
October 13, 2017
October 2017 Perspectives Newsletter
September 21, 2017
Greenleaf Trust named one of Michigan’s Best and Brightest in Wellness®
September 8, 2017 Kalamazoo, Michigan – Greenleaf Trust has been named one of Michigan’s Best and Brightest in Wellness® companies to work for. The Best and Brightest in Wellness award recognizes and celebrates quality and excellence in health and wellness. The Best and Brightest in Wellness winners were evaluated by SynBella, the nation’s leading wellness […]
Read MoreSeptember 18, 2017
September 2017 Perspectives Newsletter
September 14, 2017
Trust Modifications: The Material Purpose Limitation
Modern trust statutes provide several ways in which to modify an irrevocable trust. For example, in Michigan an irrevocable trust can be decanted to move its assets to a new trust that is created by the trustee. MCL 700.7820a. Additionally, Michigan’s version of the Uniform Trust Code also offers several other procedures that can be […]
Read MoreSeptember 13, 2017
Equifax Has Been Hacked…Now What?
By now you have probably heard that Equifax, one of the three national credit reporting agencies, was hacked and the personal information for 143 million individuals was compromised. Please be assured the Equifax breach is in no way associated with your Greenleaf Trust accounts. The Equifax breach exposed information including names, social security numbers, birth […]
Read MoreAugust 30, 2017
Greenleaf Trust is #3 (out of 100) Coolest Place to Work in Michigan: Crain’s Detroit Business
August 29, 2017 Kalamazoo, Michigan – Wealth management firm, Greenleaf Trust, has been named the #3 (out of 100) Cool(est) Places to Work in Michigan. The annual list is compiled by Crain’s Detroit Business and Best Companies Group. “Just being in the top 100 Cool Places to Work is, in itself, an accolade we welcome,” […]
Read MoreAugust 14, 2017
August 2017 Perspectives Newsletter
July 28, 2017
Regina Jaeger
Personable and bright, Regina Jaeger, CTFA, is the ideal trust relationship officer to bring extraordinary client service back to Northern Michigan. But how? For clients of Greenleaf Trust, you see, extraordinary client service never went away. So Regina will set her sights on raising a high bar even higher by advising, serving, and meeting the […]
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