Elections have impacts. At the time of this writing, Donald Trump will become the 47th President of the United States on January 20, 2025, and Republicans are poised to take control of both houses of Congress.
Inter-Vivos QTIP Marital Trusts – Protecting the Assets You Have and Want to Pass On
In this article, we focus on the asset protection benefits of lifetime (“inter-vivos”) transfers to irrevocable “QTIP” marital trusts. The big distinctions between these trusts and SLATs and “Bert and Earnie” Trusts is that, with inter-vivos QTIP marital trusts, the trustmaker spouse need not give up the right to use and benefit from contributed trust property after his or her spouse’s death, and the couple’s beneficiaries can benefit from capital gains income tax step-ups when each spouse dies.
A Trust Primer for Trustees and Investment Advisers
As the popularity of trusts has increased over recent years, the number of individuals asked to serve as a trustee for loved ones or friends has multiplied. Deciding how best to cope with these new situations can be confusing for those individuals and financial professional ...
Often Overlooked Advantages of Revocable Trusts
Often Overlooked Advantages of Revocable Trusts Revocable and amendable trusts are heralded as superior estate planning devices because of their ability to handle situations that cannot be addressed by traditional will-based planning. For example, revocable trusts ...
Fiduciary Duty – Why Trusts & Powers of Attorney Work
Many of us have created trusts for a large variety of reasons. Among other attractions, trusts can offer privacy, disability planning, probate avoidance, tax avoidance, asset management, and creditor protection for our loved ones. In addition, many Americans have created po ...
Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts
With the potential for changes in party control of both Congress and the Presidency, wealthy taxpayers are now asking many questions about using Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATs) to preserve existing estate tax exemptions, focus appreciation on gifted assets outside th ...