Balancing Debt into Retirement

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2018 Annual Report

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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 […]

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February 2019 Perspectives

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Brexit: Where Are We Now?

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Is Your Durable Power of Attorney Aging with You?

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Digital Assets – Are You Planning for Them?

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Millennials: Building Their Legacy

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Hardship Distributions Made Easier in 2019

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January 2019 Perspectives

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2019 Strategic Initiatives

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2018 Review and Outlook

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Reflect, Resolve, Relax

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Your Children and Their Financial Inheritance

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Happily Ever Asher

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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 […]

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Greenleaf Trust’s Year In Review: A Seminar on Financial Markets and Our Outlook for 2019

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December 2018 Perspectives Newsletter

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November 2018 Perspectives Newsletter

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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 […]

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October 2018 Perspectives Newsletter

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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 […]

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September 2018 Perspectives Newsletter

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August 2018 Perspectives Newsletter

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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 […]

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‘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 […]

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July 2018 Perspectives Newsletter

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June 2018 Perspectives Newsletter

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May 2018 Perspectives Newsletter

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April 2018 Perspectives Newsletter

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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 […]

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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 […]

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March 2018 Perspectives Newsletter

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2017 Annual Report

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February 2018 Perspectives Newsletter

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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. […]

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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 […]

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January 2018 Perspectives Newsletter

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December 2017 Perspectives Newsletter

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November 2017 Perspectives Newsletter

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October 2017 Perspectives Newsletter

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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 […]

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September 2017 Perspectives Newsletter

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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,” […]

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August 2017 Perspectives Newsletter

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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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July 2017 Perspectives Newsletter

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Greenleaf Trust welcomes new trust relationship officer, Regina Jaeger

Traverse City, MI, July 1, 2017 – Wealth management firm, Greenleaf Trust, announced today the hiring of Regina Jaeger, who is joining the firm’s Northern Michigan team. As Vice President and Trust Relationship Officer, Regina will be responsible for providing trust services to individuals and nonprofit organizations. She has over 29 years of experience in […]

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